Master of Beasts
by Insaneiac The Maniac
Summary: When Slade manages to access the Titan's computer, he finds something interesting about Beast Boy. Now, Slade finds himself wanting a pet, and already has his eye set on one.
1. Chapter 1: Nightmares

Insaneiac: You know what; I should not be allowed to sleep after writing. Seriously. I came up with another fic idea, and being me, I couldn't help but write it down. Hopefully, this idea is as original as everything else I have written, but I might as well try. By the way, the events in this story are pre-Birthmark. Get it, got it? Good.

Disclaimer: Um… Nope, don't own them. The Titans belong to someone else who isn't me.

Everyone has nightmares. It's a fact of life, just like getting dumped by a girlfriend, and being fired from a job. It is inevitable that you will have a nightmare every once in a while. They remind you that there are scariest things are usually in your head. They also give you a chance to stand to your greatest fears, or to finally face something you've denied for too long. In many ways, nightmares are your brain's way of reminding you that bad things do happen, and worst things will happen. So, it only makes sense that you would get one every once in a while.

Not so for one member of the Titan, nor has it been for sometime now. Close to a month was more like it. Every night he would have the same, horrible nightmare. Every time he closed his eyes, he'd see the same white eyes he'd seen every night. He'd gotten use to the eyes by now, but he'd still find himself up at three in the morning, beads of sweat pouring down his small, green face. And tonight had been exactly the same as the last four weeks of his life.

"_Who are you? Where's Beast Boy?" A fresh voice yelled, as her blue eyes locked onto the pure white ones of the monster in front of her. Slowly, the monster stepped towards her, his eyes softening as best they could, but to no avail, as the woman's eyes glowed bright yellow and her long blonde hair began to float upwards. "GIVE BACK BEAST BOY!"_

_A chunk of earth smashed into the beast, yet it had very little effect. At least, it had very little physical effect on him. His eyes turned from the softest possible he could provide, to just plain hurt. Slowly, the beast backed away from the woman, her glowing eyes still piercing into his the beast's purely white eyes. _

"_You can't have him back Terra… he's mine now… my little pet…" Another voice sounded, as Terra turned sharply to the sound. An instant later, a gloved fist smashed into her face, shattering it into pieces as though it were no more than stone, or glass. The fist retreated back to the darkness, and the beast's hurt and soft eyes turned to fury in a heartbeat. A bloodcurdling roar erupted from the beast's mouth, and soon the snarling beast was charging towards the shattered Terra._

"_Tsk, tsk. I thought I told you to stay!" The voice said with a harsh tone, as the beast leapt at him. "It's your fault she died, Beast Boy…" The voice said again, as a single eye burned through the shadows and straight into the beast's soul. "My pets should learn to behave themselves, and listen to their MASTERS!" The voice yelled angrily._

Beast Boy shot up, stifling back a scream that he had wanted to let loose so many times before. His eyes were opened as wide as possible, and sweat dripped from his face. It had been the same one again. Every time, he watched as though he were a spectator, he saw himself. Not his real self, but the horrible freak of nature that resided deep within him. A horrible manifestation of his anger, and hate, and all the other emotions he hid.

He watched as Terra attacked him, never truly realizing who he was, and then he watched the same horrible image over and over again. A fist shattering Terra like glass, and a face that he knew all too well and feared not nearly enough. It had been a good month since the incident with the chemicals, and it had been a good month since they started.

"What is wrong with me…?" Beast Boy muttered, rubbing his eyes. "Why is Slade, of all people, in my dreams? Robin's the one that is obsessed with that freak!" Beast Boy yelled, staring into the darkness surrounding his bed. Slowly, Beast Boy got out of the bed, and walked to the door. Maybe some of Raven's herbal tea would help his mind.

The door opened, and standing in front of Beast Boy was the same face he saw in every dream he had had in the last month. "Hello Beast Boy… Going for a walk are we?" Slade muttered, grabbing him by the throat. Slade squeezed tightly, taking the air from Beast Boy's lips, and hoisting him to his face, so as to stare levelly with the green changeling. His one eye burning into Beast Boy's eyes, although it felt more like he was digging into his soul. In a quick movement, almost fluid, a collar was slapped around his neck, and a sinister laugh escaped Slade's mouth. "I always wanted a dog…"

This time, Beast Boy shot up out of bed, and screamed. He screamed until he heard pounding at the door, and then he screamed until he fell onto the floor of his room. His head was throbbing with mind bending pain, and even his throat hurt, though it could have just been from the screaming. The door was quickly wrapped in a black aura, and forced open, as Robin ran into the room, bird-a-rangs drawn incase something was there. There was nothing in the room though.

Nothing but the green changeling, curled up in the fetal position, rocking back and forth, muttering nonsense. Well, nonsense except for one constant word.

"Slade…"

* * *

**Master of Beasts

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**

* * *

Chapter 1: Nightmares

* * *

Few things truly scared Robin outright. Anyone could tell that the number one thing Robin was truly afraid of was Slade. You could tell even from his just glancing into his room, and seeing the massive amount of pictures and newspaper clippings hanging on the wall. While many people would fear rejection, or death the most, Robin was always fearful of Slade. No matter how badly he tries to show otherwise. 

So it only made sense that when Robin heard Beast Boy muttering Slade's name among other nonsense, his mental red alert would spring to life in a heartbeat. However, something else had truly scared him this night. He had never once remembered Beast Boy screaming like that, ever. It had not only torn him from sleep, but it had nearly made his blood run cold. When the screaming continued, Robin found himself not only worried, but frightened and confused. He rushed out of his room in a heartbeat, and down to his teammate's quarters in no time, only to see Raven standing there, her eyes wide opened.

When they opened the door, their eyes had gotten, if possible, even wider. On the floor was their teammate, wrapped in the fetal position, shaking as though he had just seen the devil himself, and muttering nonsense. And as mentioned, Robin became even more worried when Slade's name was repeated over and over again by the changeling. The two had been joined by Starfire and Cyborg. Starfire had come later, as the screaming had effectively freaked her out beyond all measure, while Cyborg just sighed, as he just wrote it off as one of Beast Boy's little pranks. When they finally came there, Starfire's eyes became nearly watery, while Cyborg's eyes just adopted a look of confusion and fear, even if he would never truly admit to it.

Robin had kneeled beside Beast Boy, and shook his shoulder roughly as he looked into his eyes. Beast Boy's pupils had shrunken, and he just kept muttering nonsense as Robin checked him out. "Beast Boy? What's wrong?" Robin muttered, getting no response. Robin turned to wave Raven in, wanting her to take a peak inside Beast Boy's mind and see what was wrong, when a hand tightly gripped Robin's nightshirt, and yanked him back with surprising force.

"Help me…" Beast Boy squeaked, tears slowly sliding down his face. Robin was now well beyond being worried, and could almost feel Beast Boy suffering as he tightly gripped his shoulder, and effectively lost as to what to do. To Robin, it sounded as though he was choking, but everything else considered, his breathing was fine.

"Raven! Something is really wrong here!" Robin yelled, as Raven slipped into the room. From behind, Starfire and Cyborg were staring on in shock. This has never happened to Beast Boy before, and they all could honestly say they expected him to be the last person to go into a state of nervous breakdown like he had. Even Starfire had been expected to go into it before Beast Boy, which showed just how unlikely everyone thought it would truly be.

"What is wrong with friend Beast Boy?" Starfire stated worriedly. Robin could already tell she was effectively freaked out. He could also tell that in a matter of moments, she was going to start crying. As mind numbingly strong as Starfire was, at heart she was a kitten. An easily emotional kitten, but a kitten none the less. "Why is he shaking like a sick Garlanth?"

"I don't know." Robin replied, as Raven kneeled down beside Beast Boy. "Talk to us Beast Boy… what's wrong with you?"

Beast Boy opened his mouth to try and say something, but all that came out was muffled gurgling, and some sounds of choking. Both Raven and Robin looked at each other almost instantly at this, and one after the other, nodded.

"Listen to me Beast Boy." Raven muttered, her voice a little less stable as usual, but no one would blame her, considering the circumstance, and considering the sudden screaming fit at three in the morning. Still, considering it is Raven, her voice was pretty strong. "I want you to try and relax." Raven muttered, before pressing a finger to Beast Boy's forehead. Almost instantly, Beast Boy went slack, and stopped quivering.

"Whatever you did, it worked nicely." Cyborg said, though more than a little rattled, walking over and picking up his friend.

"I didn't do anything yet." Raven replied, her eyes now a little wider than they had been just a few moments prior. "He must have passed out."

"Friend Robin, why was Beast Boy screaming and lying on the floor shaking?" Starfire muttered, her voice audibly shaky. Robin could understand why it would be. Starfire was not only probably beyond scared, but she had never seen Beast Boy so out of it before.

"I really don't know Starfire. I truly do not know." Robin told Starfire, as he walked off. "Cyborg, put him in the medical bay, and hook him up." Robin shouted at Cyborg, who just nodded as he walked off.

An hour later ------

The Titans, sans Beast Boy, were sitting in the main room, being effectively unable to sleep again. Everyone admitted that they freak out Beast Boy had left them all a little more than shook up, even Robin. Raven had settled down with a cup of herbal tea, while the rest of The Titans just stared at one another, listening closely to see if anything else would happen.

Finally, Raven spoke, breaking the eerie silence that had taken a firm hold of the Titans. "What do we do about him?"

"What do you mean Raven?" Robin replied, almost on reflex.

"Well, no offense Robin, but you are the one obsessed with Slade. It's more than creepy that Beast Boy would be the first to snap." Cyborg replied, receiving rather vicious glares from the rest of the Titans.

"Raven, maybe you could see what's freaked him out that badly." Robin muttered, before the sound of an alarm rung through the Tower. The computer clicked on almost automatically, and the screen displayed the scene of a crime. "It's Cinderblock. He's going on a rampage downtown. Titans, go!" Robin yelled, as the four ran off to save the day. Within moments, the Tower was empty, minding Beast Boy. A lone eye in the darkness watched them flee to save the day, or in this case, the night.

'_What better time than now to finally find out Robin's greatest weakness. What better time than the present to dig through the files the idiot Titans kept, and finally dig out the darkest secrets and the deepest regrets of the amazing Boy Wonder?'_

Slowly, Slade made his way to the empty tower. Yes, the man was truly still alive, even though his survival was a miraculous one at that. Of course, Slade made a point to never test the limitations of his battle attire like that ever again. His suit was well capable of surviving the magma, but he lost a mask in the process. He was most sure that when next he and Robin met, Robin would be bowing at his feet.

Slowly, Slade slipped into the empty tower, and walked into the very den of the Tower. It sickened him that Robin held this pathetic display of justice in such high regards. It was greatly unbecoming of what he was truly meant to be. Slowly, Slade made his way to each room, checking to see if any of the Titan's had stayed behind. Finally reaching the infirmary, he stared in to see the changeling hooked up and being monitored. Needless to say, Slade found himself curious as to why the pathetic green pest would be in the infirmary. But that was unimportant right now. No, more than anything, Slade wanted information. They say information is a tool in the right hands, and a weapon in the wrong hands. Well, Slade preferred to think of it as both.

Slade made his way back to the main room, and accessed the main computer terminal. Within a few quick menus, he had reached the file database, where the Titans kept their most secret and personal information. Big surprise, however, Robin's wasn't there. Either he had erased his, or he kept it hidden. Slade felt like destroying the computer, until he saw something else. Something much different than what he had come to look for originally.

It was a file named 'Bestial Mutation.' With curiosity nipping away at Slade, he clicked on the file, and saw it open to a collection of photographs, and a small write up. Within the first few pictures, Slade's one eye soon opened wider. The pictures were of a wild looking beast, and by the scenes of destruction in each photo, he could assume it was quite strong. Closing the pictures, he turned to the write up, and for the first time in his life, found himself at a loss for words.

'Beast Boy, after exposure to dangerous chemicals during a fight with the villain known as Adonis, mutated into a horrible beast, capable of great destruction. His senses had nearly tripled in effectiveness, and both his speed and strength had increased dramatically. He easily beat us around, but eventually wound up tired after a fight with a mutated Adonis. After the fight, Cyborg managed to lock away the mutated form of Beast Boy with a solution, but Beast Boy himself has already become much more different.'

'_Too bad it won't do me any good if it is locked away…'_ Slade mused as he read on.

'Beast Boy transformed into this "were-beast" when put under great emotional stress. However, he seems to retain some basic senses to him, and although he becomes much more violent, he still has a few shred of control over the form.'

'_So the changeling isn't completely pathetic at all. If what this says is true, that child is more powerful than any of my servants in that state, and even more so than Robin…most interesting indeed. Maybe it's time I invest in getting myself a pet…'_ Slade once again mused, before closing the file, and turning the computer off. He should have left then, but he was curious now as to why Beast Boy was now in the infirmary. Slade made his way back to Beast Boy, and stared at him from outside.

"Well well. Who could have known you posses such power inside you." Slade muttered, staring at Beast Boy. Slowly, he walked into the room, and looked down at the green one. "Sleep tight, boy. I have my eye on you and that special little friend deep inside you." Slade muttered, before walking off, and leaving the tower, and leaving Beast Boy to his dreams.

"_You can't have him back Terra… he's mine now… my little pet…" Another voice sounded, as Terra turned sharply to the sound. An instant later, a gloved fist smashed into her face, shattering it into pieces as though it were no more than stone, or glass. The fist retreated back to the darkness, and the beast's hurt and soft eyes turned to fury in a heartbeat. A bloodcurdling roar erupted from the beast's mouth, and soon the snarling beast was charging towards the shattered Terra._

"_Tsk, tsk. I thought I told you to stay!" The voice said with a harsh tone, as the beast leapt at him. "It's your fault she died, Beast Boy…" The voice said again, as a single eye burned through the shadows and straight into the beast's soul. "My pets should learn to behave themselves, and listen to their MASTERS!" The voice yelled angrily. _

Beast Boy shot straight up in the medical room, and stared into the darkness. Slowly, he raised his hands to his face, and rubbed his forehead. Slowly, Beast Boy rested back down onto the bed, and breathed slowly. "What do you want with me…?" Beast Boy whined into the open infirmary bay. "Robin's the one that has your picture everywhere. Why are you bothering me dude." Beast Boy complained weakly, looking off to the left.

"I want nothing with you, child. I want what's in you…" Slade muttered, his head coming out of the shadows, right beside Beast Boy's head. "You're just the worthless shell that keeps him from me." Beast Boy tried to scream, but a hand slammed down on his mouth, and kept him from screaming. Slowly, Slade drew a collar from his belt, and brought it to Beast Boy's throat. He laughed as Beast Boy's eyes grew wider than ever before, with muffled cries making it all the more sweet. In no great hurry, Slade placed the collar around Beast Boy's neck, and lowered his masked face until both faces were barely apart at all.

"You're my pet now, dog!"

Outside Titan Tower ------

The Titans had very little problem with Cinderblock, minding the fact that he was tossing cars at the Titans. Raven quickly dealt with the cars, and then the beat down began. At least until Cinderblock ran away.

"I just want to go to sleep now." Cyborg whined, his head hanging as the car was parked back into the garage of the tower.

"I know what you mean." Starfire replied, her eyes drooping. Even Raven and Robin were tired. The adrenaline from the midnight freak out had long since gone, and all four Titans wanted nothing more than to just get to sleep.

"Right, let's check up on Beast Boy, and we'll go to sleep." Robin stated, leaving the garage. It didn't take long for them to get to the main room after that, and although the four were pretty much exhausted, they managed the stairs quite well. Even Starfire, who was usually the most energetic one of the group, felt like she was going to fall asleep right here in the middle of the room. They were all genuinely tired and felt like just falling asleep and forgetting how the day had begun.

Which made it all the worst when the screams began again.

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Insaneiac: First of, it is a plausible idea. Think about it, what could Slade accomplish when he has something that beat all four Titans? And the nightmares…well, Beast Boy never did come off as the one who'd go off on a tangent about how he was having nightmares, especially with Captain. Slade Obsession over there. Tell me what you think though, as this will get more interesting as it goes on. 


	2. Chapter 2: What Lies Behind

**Insaneiac:** Holy mega reviews Batman! I've not only broken one personal record, but two personal records. Over 15 reviews in one chapter, and all in one day. Anyways, I could kiss you all, over and over again…but then you wouldn't read would you? No… you'd all file lawsuits and take me to court and all that jazz.

**Reviews**

**Alexnandru Van Gordon:**_ Ah my must trusted Reviewer, and the sole person responsible for this being up. Here I was planning on hiding it for a while. Thanks a ton you do-gooder for giving me that little push I needed, and do not worry, I intend on putting this on a rigorous update schedule. So baby, go eat your heart out._

**Eryka O.G.:**_ Sparked it eh? Just you wait. Good to see it caught your attention._

**NumbuhZero:**_ No, don't die. If you die, I'll have to send flowers. Don't worry, I updated soon. So put away the pills or whatever you were going to off yourself with._

**Goth Jedi:**_ Congratulations. You are my first reviewer, EVER, to have the word Goth in their name. You get…a specialized shout out. Sorry. Enjoy the chapter, and glad you like it._

**Cyborg Chicken:**_ Glad you like it, and here you go. An update. Love me more._

**Coolgirlc:**_ I apologize that I did not put all the dreams in italics, but it would take away from the realism of the moment. Glad you like it, hope you keep reading, and thanks for putting me in your C2._

**Dragongirl:**_ Poor Beast Boy! Sistah, you ain't seen nothing yet. The worst is yet to come for our precious green changeling. _

**Starygurl88:**_I KNOW!__ We Beast Boy fans have to unite and demand more focus on him! Well, enjoy this chapter, and I hope you keep with. Beast Boy fans unite!_

**Kazzy103:**_ Thank you. That is something I love to go for, originality. And while Slade may not be the pet type, I do believe he'd want something as powerful as that. And thanks for the compliment of Cages. Glad you love that too. And yes, according to quite a few people, that was an evil ending place. I'm crazy that way._

**Chibi Scooby:**_ Comas? I prefer concussions. They are instant, and you tend to wake up somewhere new every time. Glad you approve, hope this chapter meets your standards._

**LadyMaundrell:**_ I hope I wasn't too long for you ;D. _

**HeX-VaiN:**_ WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN! Jeez, I write and I write and I get no respect from you. Thanks for the review, hope you keep with._

**Uberman:**_ Thanks for the review, hope you like this chapter._

**Billy:**_ OH YES!_

**The Mad Shoe:**_ …Your name rocks. Thanks for the review, hope you keep reading, and enjoy. _

**Red Vixen:**_ Will do. Glad to see you like, and hope you keep reading. I have a lot planned._

**The Planner Conspiracy:**_ Thanks for the compliments, though I am a bit modest in it all. Here you go, one good update for you. Enjoy it._

**Rebel-Aquarius:**_ Master Aquarius…are you threatening me? Don't worry, Beast Boy won't die…yet :P Enjoy._

**Slade Wilson- Deathstroke:**_ (Sent me his by email, it counts. IT COUNTS!) Yes well, what can I say? The Beast Within remains my favorite episode, and I could just never let it go, his dark side that is. _

Wow! Must shout outs I've ever done in a single chapter. Go me! Go me!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Teen Titans or any Teen Titan/DC related individual.

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Chapter 2: What Lies Behind

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The first time they heard it, they were surprised and scared. It sounded like children screaming over an over again, sobs choked in between each ear shattering cry. Now it sounded like those same children being slowly, and thoroughly, tortured and killed. The effect that this had was enough to even unnerve Robin, leaving him momentarily stunned and hesitant.

"ROBIN!" A voice yelled, sounding galaxies away. A pair of pale hands began to roughly shake him, bringing him back to reality, as Robin turned from hearing the screams… to Raven's visibly worried gaze. Starfire and Cyborg had run off towards the med bay, leaving Raven to bring back the fearless leader.

"Beast Boy!" Robin yelped, looking past Raven and charging towards the medical bay. Raven followed closely, as the screams got louder and louder, and more agonizing every time. The two passed Starfire, who found herself unable to go near the med bay. The screams had done well beyond unnerve her, and she soon found herself in tears. Despite the all too urgent emergency, Starfire leapt into Robin's arms as soon as he came into view, breathing heavily.

"Robin… why is friend Beast Boy acting this way? It is deeply scaring me…" She choked out, Robin finding himself again stunned for the moment. It wasn't unusual for Starfire to be scared, but this was different. She was scared on a whole new level, and Robin had no clue what to say or what to do to make her feel better. He signed for Raven to go on, and quickly took Starfire aside.

Meanwhile, Raven charged into the room, only to see Cyborg fighting to hold Beast Boy down, as he kicked and screamed at random things, clutching at his neck as he had before. Even Cyborg, Mr. Roboto, had a tear trail, though he kept it hidden as best as he could.

"RAVEN! DO SOMETHING!" Cyborg screamed, as Beast Boy delivered a randomly place kick into Cyborg's side. With a quick disoriented blink, Raven used her powers to strap Beast Boy onto the medical bed, severely limiting his movements. His hands now forced at his sides, Beast Boy finally stopped screaming, only to seclude back into the muttering mass of goo he had been earlier, shaking violently in the bed, and tears streaming down his green cheeks.

However this time it was different. The words have changed a bit, and both Raven and Cyborg found themselves staring into each other's eyes as Beast Boy wept and muttered large amounts of nonsense, with to coherent words popping up side by side.

"Slade…pet…"

"Raven…what's wrong with Beast Boy?" Cyborg muttered, his voice trembling as he watched his best friend throw his head side to side and mutter nonsense over and over again. Robin finally managed to get to the room, only to feel his heart cannonball into his stomach. His eyes, though hidden behind his mask, softened considerably as he watched Beast Boy suffer. Yet it was the words that truly dug into his heart. Slade again, but now the word 'pet.'

"Raven… go in his head. Find out just what is wrong with him!"

"Robin… I just can't…" Raven began, before looking back at Beast Boy, suffering as he was. After a brief moment of hesitation, Raven nodded, her words failing her as she started at her friend. Her annoying, loud mouthed, completely un-funny friend, but her friend indeed. She slowly placed to fingers on each of Beast Boy's temples, and using her powers held his head in one place.

"Alright Beast Boy… slow your breathing… calm down…" Raven began, her voice visibly weak. Maybe it was stress; maybe it was the fact that it was late, but she knew herself it was at coming back to face this again though, and as long as she lived she would never tell anyone exactly how she felt at the time. "Now… open your mind to me."

Arching his back as best as he could, Beast Boy's eyes shot open as wide as they could. For a brief moment, Raven saw those eyes, and almost cried. They were full of pain, full of suffering, and full of madness and misery. Those eyes would forever haunt her mind and soul, but for the moment the eyes disappeared as her consciousness slipped into Beast Boy's.

Beast Boy's Mind ------

When Raven first thought about diving into Beast Boy's mind, she had never assumed on seeing what she would see. Beast Boy's mind was not the thing she had made it out to be. Raven had always thought it would be empty, and full of stupid jokes and animals. Maybe, if anything, a rather large shrine to his beloved girlfriend…albeit short lived relationship, Terra.

No, instead what she saw was nothing more than collections of jumbled up memories revolving around his friends, and the much larger, and much more disturbing collection of his nightmares. For someone with such a stupid friendly attitude, he had beyond the regular amounts of demons hiding inside him.

"Alright then… What's behind this all?" Raven muttered, before turning around. In front of her, the entire room changed. From almost void like, Beast Boy's consciousness took the shape of a cave. Not just any cave, but the very cave Beast Boy had _secretly _left to every night to mourn. Raven knew that much about him. Try as he might, Beast Boy could not sneak when she was concentrating.

In the cave was Terra, not as a statue but in living flesh. Just in front of her lied something even more sinister, something Raven had encountered and remembered all to well. It almost led the Titans to destroy Beast Boy completely. Standing in front of Terra was Beast Boy's much darker, much more destructive Were-Beast form. And further beyond that, hiding in the shadows…was someone that she too knew all to well. He was the one that took Robin away from the Titans, and tried to change him into something evil. He was the one that took Terra away from Beast Boy.

It also happened to be the one person who Beast Boy had been muttering over and over again, almost obsessively. Slade.

"GIVE BACK BEAST BOY!" Terra yelled, her fists raised, eyes glowing. From Beast Boy… or the Were-Beast, a pair of soft eyes, as soft as those horrid eyes could be, addressed her as she hurled a chunk of earth into Beast Boy. Raven wanted to interfere, but she could not. Something was holding onto her, something with a powerful grip. Raven turned quickly to come eye to eye with Beast Boy… the real Beast Boy…

Or at least Beast Boy's subconscious self. "Raven…what are you doing here?" Beast Boy asked, though his voice sounding defeated. It almost sounded as if he had failed in something, though Raven truly had no clue as to what.

"If anyone, you should know the answer."

"You shouldn't have come here… You should have just left me to my nightmares…" Slowly, Beast Boy lowered his head as he heard Slade say the same thing he said every night for the last month. This time though, it was Raven who felt like she had been blindsided by a brick, it was Raven whose eyes opened wider than the have ever done so before. Most of all, it was Raven who found herself wanting to scream.

"My pets should learn to behave themselves, and listen to their MASTERS!" Slade growled angrily, before the whole image disappeared. Again in darkness, again alone in his own secluded hell hold, Beast Boy looked up, and sighed.

"I guess this means we should talk?" Beast Boy muttered, looking back towards the rather disturbed Raven,

Slade's Lair ------

Despite his hurry, Slade had managed to download a large part of the Were-Beast file, something that he had found himself revolving around since the moment he had seen it. On his massive computer was irrefutable proof that the annoying little changeling had some deeper, darker menace inside him. Something that single handedly wiped out the Titans, twice. Not even Robin could stop him when he was in that mode.

And Slade wanted him. He wanted this "Were-Beast" as his own. He wanted it's wild and unmatched power. He wanted it's intimidating and destructive appearance. He wanted it's pure destructive capabilities. Most of all… he wanted to have him under his control. The Titans couldn't control him, but Slade would.

And all it took was a little appointment with one of his best, brightest, and most aggravating scientists. Dr. Lin Winry, his single greatest biochemist and technical scientist, and the single greatest pain in his neck. She would do what she was told, as anyone obedient subordinate would, but she gives him hell for it during the entire ordeal. It was amazing the mental fortitude it took to keep from breaking her precious little neck

And, with everything that had been going on… it would take a whole lot more. Even though she did what he asked, she hated him with a burning passion. The fact that she still worked for him had chiefly to do with the fact that if she refused a task, or tried to escape, her child would suffer the consequences. _'Honestly, a mother is the weakest target of all.'_ Slade mused to himself, looking towards the bottom left screen. _'Take their sons or daughters and she becomes a pawn in the game of life.'_

Slowly, Slade rose from his seat, turning off the computer. For the third time since returning, he had looked over the documents, and with every read over he found himself more intrigued. The impudent little fool was truly a devil in disguise. And if there was one thing Slade was remarkably good at, it was brining that devil to the surface. A subtle smile crawled across his face from behind the mask as he walked towards the door, and inevitably towards Dr. Winry.

He would have to pay a visit to his pet.

Beast Boy's Mind ------

"A month?" Raven exclaimed, now sitting in Beast Boy's representation of the Titan Tower. Raven had an herbal tea…even if it wasn't real, and Beast Boy was staring out the large windows, and into a landscape of darkness and void like black. Even if he could create Titan Tower…the rest of the world was something he wanted to avoid representing.

"Yes. A month. Same dream, same people. Every time it ends the same, only today it has ended much more sinisterly, and far more disturbing." Beast Boy spoke, looking over his shoulder. Raven had adopted a thoroughly uneasy look on her face, something that Beast Boy felt inwardly proud about. Not many people managed to disturb the gothic Titan, and now Beast Boy could be added to that list.

"How so? What could be more disturbing than…" Raven continued, masking the fear with seriousness, hiding the horror with intrigue. That was the fist time she had ever seen that nightmare, and even she was creeped out.

"When this dream ends, I have another one. One much more realistic, and much scarier. I can actually feel him grabbing me by the throat, feel the air as it scrambles out of me, and the pain as it screams through me. Slade shows up the two times I've had them, and throws a collar around my neck… and calls me his pet."

"Beast Boy…what you are saying is very close to a premonition."

"Raven, I pray to god every time I wake that it isn't. The dreams get worst, more real, and I get even more scared. Now these dreams come…I'm beginning to have trouble distinguishing real from dream now… I'm scared Raven." Beast Boy muttered weakly, the windows all turning black, solid black.

"Beast Boy…" Raven replied, looking down at her feet.

"If it is a premonition…"

"Why wouldn't you tell us?" Raven interrupted, instantly jolting back as the windows suddenly displayed Robin on them, displaying quite potently the memory of when Robin jumped at Beast Boy for "attacking" Raven. A memory burned into his head all to well. Something that, despite the circumstances, has had yet to forgive the leader for.

"Robin… He would have been more concerned that Slade wanted something than what I felt." Secretly, and he would never admit it to anyone, Beast Boy hated Robin. He hated how the team always worried about him, and he hated how quick Robin was to attack rather than help when Beast Boy needed it. "He would have berated me with questions, then lock me away somewhere."

"Beast Boy, that's nonsense." Raven replied with a stern voice and with stressed meaning behind them.

"Is it? Take a long look Raven. When Slade took Robin, we all wanted nothing more than to save him. When I became…" Beast Boy began, as Robin was replaced with the Were-Beast. "…that, Robin hopped right to attacking me, after pulling the bad-cop routine."

"You can't blame him; it looked like you attacked me." Raven replied, even though her confidence was waning. Despite what she thought, what she believed, Beast Boy was right. At least, he was right to a point.

"You can't tell anyone Raven."

"They have to know."

"I refuse it."

"They need to know about it. What if you have them again?" Raven replied, getting stressed. Funny thing was she didn't want to tell them. Beast Boy was suffering and she knew all to well that, when confronted with friends or Slade, Robin always chose Slade. Even if he hated him, the subject of Slade pushed his friends aside with ease, and he became oblivious to everything except Slade and finding anything out on him, or bringing him to justice.

As much as she would refuse to admit it, the two were similar in that one ideal. If they wanted something, they would not stop until the get it.

"There has to be another way Raven. If you tell him, I'll leave."

There was no comedy in his voice, there was no happiness, but what was there was complete, total seriousness. Something Raven knew all to well, and couldn't believe hearing it come from Beast Boy…even if it was just his subconscious self. She had never truly seen Beast Boy as the ignorant comic relief, but now here he was, not a tinge of comedy anywhere in his voice.

"There is a method…"

"Yes?"

"Every night you must come to my room. I'll go into your head, and help you calm yourself. I'll use my powers to put you into a state of empty-mind ness, and clear your head of all thoughts." So many insults began popping into her head, and with all the control she had readily available she fought the urge to insult him. . "As well, I'll leave a temporary mental link between you and me, so if you have anymore…nightmares, I can help you deal with them. Then you should be able to sleep fairly easily."

"And no one tells Robin, or anyone for that matter, right?"

"I promise." Raven replied, before Beast Boy lowered his head, the windows going back to being windows.

"Alright then. So what do we tell…them" Beast Boy replied, a rather disdainful tone flowing when he reached the final word. Of all the people in the world to open up to, Raven was the last person on his list. Ironically, he also knew she would be the only one who would understand.

Slade's Lair: Winry's Lab ------

Lin Winry was a bustling young scientist, one of the strongest minds in her specific fields. She was no more than twenty six, and all ready she had cornered the nation on the studies of biochemical sciences. Add for the fact that she had a knack for mechanics, an art for the technological, and mind for challenges, and easily had the leading woman in science, within Jump City, of the last century.

And of course, through the miracles of life and luck, she was a gorgeous woman at that. Caucasian, good medium length brown hair, a pair of hazel eyes behind a very proper pair of glasses, and perfect lips. Men around her would melt at her appearance, and suddenly find themselves infatuated with someone far beyond their league. She wore the typical white lab coat, with a black T-shirt underneath it, and a pair of casual jeans.

However, the shining jewel of this woman was her take-no-prisoners, grow-up-or-piss-off attitude. She was brilliant, beautiful, and without a doubt in the world, a very independent woman at that. If someone tried to go at her with a knife, chances were he would get knocked to the ground, and then spat on by her. Very little truly scared Lin, and even when something did, she seemed to become even more of a smartass. It was as if in her own personal way, she was giving Death the middle finger, and laughing all the way.

How she came to work under Slade was still something that baffled her every night. He was cruel, violent, and dangerous, everything that she hated in the human race. Yet somehow he still managed to get her to work for him. At first, it was a great job. She was paid lots, and did great things for the worst man on the planet. And then he would cross the line, and ask her for something her morals wouldn't permit her to do…ever. He wanted a bomb…a specific kind of bomb.

She decided then after to quit, and for two years it had gone according to plan. Everything was perfect, and the young and volatile woman had even gotten married to a scientist employed to Wayne Enterprises. His name was Geoffrey Gosper, and of course, Lin forced him to keep her last name. They had one child, a son. They named him Richard after her late grandfather. When it was his first birthday… Slade showed up. He had a present of his own.

Lin was restrained by a pair of his special robot figures, and was forced to watch as Slade brutally killed Geoffrey in front of her. He systematically broke each bone in his body, before finally snapping his neck. It was a very long, and very cruel way of reminding her just who she served. They dumped his body to the side, and moved towards her young son, and despite her cries, protests and foul language, took him away from her. In his wake, Slade left her directions to his lair, and warned her gravely that any interference results in her son dying.

And here she was, on the fifth birthday of Richard, and the fifth anniversary of Geoffrey's death, serving both the killer and kidnapper of her family. She knew nothing at all of where Richard was, and Slade had barred her from ever leaving the lair. Of course, she does his dirty work, knowing what refusal to work would buy her, but she would make Slade regret it every moment of his life.

Of course, at the time she was merely looking over some documents. Slade had given her a rather large list of very _important_ tasks to work on. Though he called everything important, he usually gave her as much time as needed to do each task. Despite his being a conniving and sinister man, he was surprisingly easy going…to a point. Her day was about to get a whole lot worst, as the doors open to reveal her forced employer. Slade walked in to the room, maintaining the same confidence he did every time he entered her room. It was to show nothing more than his superiority over her.

"Miss Winry… how are you today?"

"Fine…" Lin replied on instinct, a rather vicious sting to the word. She hadn't even bothered to look up, focusing more on his _projects_ than Slade himself. Aside from that, his opening statement was more of an insult than anything else, a stab at her life as it were. The whole day was ahead of her, and Slade knew all to well what day it truly was.

"Have you paid your respects yet?"

"Go screw yourself." She replied, still not looking from her papers. Behind his mask Slade smiled.

"I have a new project for you Miss Winry…"

"And that would be…" Lin retorted, finally breaking away from her papers to look into Slade's one eye. Of course, she didn't raise her head entirely to him, as she never would unless he forced her to. Instead, she met his gaze with a vicious stare over the rim of her glasses, resting on the bridge of her nose.

"This." Slade replied, simply. He pulled his hands from behind him, and dropped to folders on the desk. On reflex, Lin opened up the folders, and read over both projects. She always did that without being ordered, as seeing his plans gave her material to shoot at him with.

"A serum?" Lin droned, looking up at Slade with a pitiful stare. "Let me guess… Robin again?" This wasn't the first thing she had done in Slade's hunt for the apprentice. Despite his failures to admit to them, both the nano-scopic probes and the neural armor had been her creations.

"Surprisingly not."

"And the other one…" Lin began again, tossing aside Slade's asinine comments. Her eyes glanced over it briefly, before she dropped the previous folder, and took a longer look. She read it through once, then twice, then another time before putting it down neatly, and staring back at Slade. This time, the glares were replaced with a much more serious stare, something she reserved for the times his plans actually struck her at home. Be it her curiosity, or her alert, this stare was reserved when one of the two were triggered. And for the moment, both were going off like school bells.

"And the other one is a collar…"

* * *

**Insaneiac:** Ooh… I know you'll hate this cliffy. So meet Lin Winry, the sass mouth beauty forced to work under Slade. A bit of a sad story to her, but in all fairness, she dedicates her life to ruining Slade's as best as she can. Anyways, read and enjoy. That's the most important thing. 


	3. Chapter 3: The Devil and The Sufferer

**Insaneiac:** Ladies and gentlemen who read this story so adamantly, I give you the next chapter of Master of Beasts… right after I clear up some confusion. Winry is my own creation; I just failed to mention that part. She was originally supposed to be named Tory, and also be a little more of subservient…but I figured what the hell. I'll make her a hellcat. And you know, the more I think of it, the more it makes me glad to see so many interested in the Comic Relief suffering so, ya sickos! (Never mind, I'm enjoying this too.)

**Reviews**

**Uberman:**_Thank you, and will do. _

**LadyMaundrell:**_ Dam that's a fun name to write. I will say that I don't hate Robin, so much as I see him as edgy. He would truly be the kind to attack than question in many instances. And…if you're a little bit worried of Beast Boy suffering, you have every right to be. _

**We gots good grammar:**_ Thanks for the congratulations, the compliments, and here you go, one hopefully soon update._

**Chibi Scooby:**_ Yup, you heard right. Hail the damned comas. And I know how you feel about horrible out of character characters. Totally defeats the purpose of reading a fan fic. Hope I can keep you interested._

**TDG3RD:**_ Well, it is Raven who treats him the worst, so it's probably hard for her just to stop. And yes, that was exactly the reaction I was going for when I had Raven defend Robin. I totally agree with you on the Beast Boy statements. He is my favorite as well, easily beating out Robin in my books. I just explored something that has danced in my head since The Beast Within (My all time favorite episode.) Glad you like the story, and I hope you keep reading._

**Rebel-Aquarius:**_ Why thank you for the compliment. I do intend on keeping it awesome, and alas, I do intend on torturing Beast Boy. So you may want to ready your sword, or gun, or bomb or whatever it is you are going to kill me with._

**Moonshine Ryu:**_ Will do! Enjoy_

**The Planner Conspiracy:** _You thought the last cliffy was bad… you'll want me dead for this one. Glad you like it, hope you stay with it. _

**Dragongirl:**_ I have to admit, BB is one of the most fun characters to toy with. The entire second season and The Beast Within fed my ambition to write something like this and I figured I'd stop procrastinating and write it. I do intend to have Beast Boy's conviction tested, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't going to have some primo shockers for you all. _

**Kazzy103:**_ Don't forget, Beast Boy's judgments on Robin are coming from his own perspective. We saw Robin doing that with concern, he probably saw him jumping at his throat within the first chance. And yes, it was a sad chapter, mood wise. I needed to set the tone after all. And as for Winry, she truly came to me in a stroke of luck. Thankfully, her character winded up being perfect to write. Anyways, enjoy the next chapter._

**Eryka O.G.:**_ Glad you like this story, and I agree. Not nearly enough Beast Boy centered fics here. And don't say it can't be done; there is so much material that could be used. And yes, Slade is one evil dude, and in all my cartoon watching years, he remains the most evil villain I've ever watched. Enjoy the chapter._

**Numbuh Zero:**_ Don't worry, she's an OC. Glad you liked the chapter, hope you like this one too. Good luck running those gnomes, they're a rather rude people they are/_

**Flam Guardian:**_ Thanks dude, and glad you like it. The best? I'm modest so I'd have to disagree. Maybe the best Beast Boy centered fic…but the best? Enjoy the chapter._

**Keri2004:**_ Ask and ye shalt receive. Enjoy._

**HeX-VaiN:**_ A huge stampede of reviewers… I'd love to see that. I'd feel so loved before dying so painfully. And yes, I do intend to keep you all on edge. I have a world of things planned for you all. Enjoy this._

**Alexnandru Van Gordon:** _Would you believe me if I said that line was a last minute addition. And Slade po'ed! Crap Alex, what the hell did you do! Oh well, deal with it as it comes. Enjoy the chapter._

**Disclaimer:** Winry is my property, but nothing else is. Just her and the idea. Cheerio

* * *

Chapter 3: The Devil and The Sufferer

* * *

"Precisely Miss Winry, a collar." Slade replied, looking down disdainfully at the young woman. He was quite under the impression that, had he been anyone different, she would have laughed at him. However, you do not laugh at Slade, and she found this out the very hard, very painful way. However, despite this little fact, Lin had remained a constant thorn in his side, and a constant reminder of just why he hated humanity. 

"You know… I'd make a mother joke Slade, but I'm pretty sure you already killed yours." She replied, a smug little smile on her face. It was quickly wiped away when Slade grabbed her roughly by the chin, and pulled her out of her desk.

"You may find that I am not in the mood for your little games tonight. But if you want to continue pushing your luck, than please continue with your juvenile little comments, Winry." Slade retorted, his voice maintaining his tone, which made it all the scarier. With Slade, the smoother he got, the angrier he was getting. And if he ever did truly get angry, you were going to regret pushing him. With a final tug, pulling Lin out of her chair, Slade tossed her back into the chair, and slowly walked beside her desk, calmly looking over her shoulder, like some kind of slave master watches his workers. Lin grimaced and muttered under her breath, before going over the specs of the collar.

"So, let me get this straight. You want a collar that can regulate emotions, send calculated shocks ripping at the press of a button, and control… what the hell is a Were-Beast?" Lin muttered, dropping the folder. Slade slowly pressed a button on his wrist, and turned to the screen behind her, as pictures of Beast Boy's Were-Beast appeared on the screen. Lin turned as slowly as she could, before her eyes met up with the screen. The horror that set in her eyes was one of the purest emotions Slade had ever encountered from her. He loved it.

"That would be the Titan known as Beast Boy." Slade began, as Lin pushed her glasses to her face, and worked at fixing her breathing. "I want that side of him under my absolute control."

"That little green kid has _that_ in him!" Lin exclaimed, over looking the picture multiple times. _'No way… he was always such an innocent person…always so happy…'_

"I guarantee Winry; you were not the only one surprised. But that is beyond the point now. What matters is what I want done."

"Slade, this is too far! Robin's tougher than he is; he's a fighter by nature. You've beaten him within an inch of his life, and he keeps coming back. I'm positive Beast Boy isn't even capable of comprehending that kind of punishment. You just can't…" Winry said, before suddenly shutting up. It was too late and she knew it. You don't tell a man like Slade that he can't do something. Fact of the matter, you don't tell Slade he can't do anything. Slowly, almost sinisterly, Slade shifted his view back to Winry, a malicious glint all too visible in his one eye.

"Can't?" Slade muttered, grabbing Winry by the throat, and lifting her from her chair. He squeezed nice and tight, listening closely to the sounds of the young scientist struggling for air. "Miss Winry, I can do anything I want." Slade muttered as smooth as usual, but this time with a certain bit of anger dancing around. Slowly, he drew her closer to his mask, so as to make it painfully clear just what Slade wanted. "You _will_ make me those items, and you'll do it without playing your little games. You are on a deadline this time, Winry, and I suggest you keep with the schedule." Slade continued, as Winry began to gag and kick from the lack of oxygen. Her eyes were begging for mercy in placement of her failing voice, and despite the major urge just to kill her, Slade showed her that mercy.

Unceremoniously, Slade tossed her back into the chair, allowing the air to rush back into her lungs, and for her voice to come back. She had gotten off exceedingly easy that time, and she was worried beyond all belief as to why she would have. Of course, despite her moral alert system ringing at full volume, she had no choice. Slade still had Richard, and if she strayed, Richard paid.

"You're a bastard Slade…" Winry chocked out, her eyes filled with hate. Hate, but subservience behind it. Try as she might, she could not hide her emotions and personalities worth a lick against Slade.

"For the collar, you have three days. For the serum, a week after the three days. You'll find all the specifics for what I need in the folders, and they _must_ work." Slade replied, walking away. He could hear her mumble all kinds of obscenities under her breath, and despite the content, he smiled. She made it such an easily noticed thing when she was beat. It was beautiful really.

"And Winry…"

A jumble of growls followed his words, before finally being answered. "What?"

"You should dress accordingly for your anniversary." Slade taunted, before walking off. Lin had no witty response laced with hatred. She had no smart backtalk to maintain a position of fleeting power. She just stared. Stared at the back of Slade as he walked away from the door, and continued to stare as they shut, blocking her view from Slade. Looking down at the folders, she opened them up with weakness coursing through her veins, and shuddered as a tear dripped onto the page.

Titan Tower ------

After what seemed close to an hour, Raven suddenly pulled away, breathing deeply and falling off backwards from the bed. The loud thump awoke Robin, who had drifted off while waiting for Raven, who quickly jumped towards helping his friend off the ground.

"Did you find anything?" Robin blurted out, concern darting through his voice. "Why does he keep mumbling Slade's name?" Robin finished. Raven, for a brief moment, stared at the leader rather disdainfully. Robin may have had Beast Boy's best interests at hand, but still his obsession with Slade remained constant. Ever since his brief run as his apprentice.

"I did, and I dealt with it. He'll be fine now." Raven replied dryly. A typical response from her of course, but one Robin would not accept.

"What was it?"

"Nothing that concerns you Robin. It is, and will remain, an issue between him and myself." Raven replied, putting herself in a position of power. Of all the Titans, you do not dive into the personal affairs of Raven. Not unless you wanted to meet your makers.

"Not good enough. If he's muttering about Slade, it concerns me too!" Robin retorted, a little more eagerness in his voice. His life, since the apprentice incident, had soon shifted from saving the city from disaster on a daily basis to bringing down Slade at whatever cost necessary.

"It's late, and I'm tired. Good night Robin." Raven replied, ignoring Robin's asinine comment. _'Sometimes you really are full of yourself.'_ As she walked by Robin blocked the exit, and adopted a rather anxious and somewhat violent look. No one living above rocks was unaware that Robin had been tortured by Slade respectively Even when he was dead, Robin found himself beat around and tortured by him. He hadn't slept right ever since the events of that night, and whenever someone said Slade, his usual nice persona disappeared, replaced by someone who wanted nothing more than revenge.

"Raven… what was Beast Boy muttering about?" Robin growled. "If it's something to do with Slade, I _deserve_ to know!"

Raven suddenly found herself remembering Beast Boy's words inside his head. Robin right now was proving her suffering little friend perfectly right. "Robin… which is more important to you? Slade or Beast Boy?" Raven viciously replied, sparing no quarter with her voice. The hard look on Robin's face suddenly softened, and pushing through, Raven left the room. Raven, whether she knew it or not, struck a painful blow against Robin that night. Robin, whether he wanted to or not, found himself swiftly ashamed of himself.

"Beast Boy…" Robin muttered, before turning away and leaving the med bay. He closed the door, turned off the lights in the section, and went off to sleep. It was only five, the sun was only beginning to rise, and they still had some time. It was going to be a pretty late wake up though. And, for the first time in over a month, Beast Boy had a dreamless sleep. No Slade with a collar, no Terra attacking him, and no white, demonic eyes burning into his soul.

Noon ------

Beast Boy was the last to wake, his eyes blinking open slowly and lazily, before his eyes opened fully. It had been the longest night of his life, and the previous events had left him more than just a little rattled. From what Raven had said last night, his previous actions had caused a fair bit of concern to come from anyone. He also knew that Robin was going to hound him for information. Beast Boy, though it was out of his power, had ended up quivering on the floor, mumbling Robin's least favorite person over and over again.

And it really didn't help that he had a pounding head ache, and an all too important meeting with Raven later at night. Slowly, Beast Boy slipped out of bed, the safety straps removed earlier that morning, most likely by Starfire. A long sigh escaped his lips, before he put away his feelings, and once again adopted the comic relief persona everyone classified him as. To be fair, he had put himself in that spot, and regretted it ever since. No one on the team respected him, everyone thought he was an idiot, and he couldn't even have his own eating habits without them being insulted by his "friends."

And to top it off, the one person who treated him worst than anyone was now the holder of some of his darker secrets. He knew Raven was good at keeping them, but the fact remained. Of course, there were always other people he hated much more than Raven. Adonis comes to mine, the primary reason for the nightmares. Slade of course fits in, and then there was Robin.

Beast Boy gave another long sigh before jumping off the bed, and walking towards the med bay doors. Just as he reached them, the doors opened up to reveal Cyborg, carrying a rather large collection of foods.

"Whoa! Beast Boy, you're up!" Cyborg replied. Fact of the matter was, Cyborg was watching from a special camera he mounted in the bay, and knew he was up just in time to make the food. Of course, Beast Boy didn't know any of this, and found himself instantly delighted that Cyborg would have gone and done something like this, even if it was a bit creepy. Of course, it soon kicked in that it may all include meat.

"Don't worry BB, it's all vegan stuff. No meat or animal related products, blah blah blah" Cyborg said, almost on instinct. On the outside, Beast Boy adopted a wide smiling, as though he were a king and Cyborg nothing more than a mere servant. Of course, inside he was marking down points on his weirdness scale. Cyborg serving vegan food to Beast Boy definitely marked high on his scale of weirdness.

"DUDE! You did this for me?"

"Yup! Someone had to cook your lazy butt some breakfast… or lunch as the case seems." Cyborg replied, putting the food down on a counter. "Man you're a late sleeper BB."

"Dude! Did you really cook this? All of this? YOU!" Beast Boy replied, almost oblivious to the shots. _Almost_.

"Yup. Of course, I had some problems with the Tofu stir fry… and I ended up losing a very good mixing spoon in the whole mess." Cyborg gloated, as though he had just defeated an army of thousands. Of course, Cyborg was by no means a vegetarian chef, and the fact that he accomplished such a task still left Beast Boy a little more than surprised. Even that wouldn't stop him from partaking in what was any vegan's dream meal. Beast Boy dug right in like a lion digs into a fresh kill, thoroughly disturbing Cyborg.

"Okay then… Enjoy…" Cyborg uttered, slightly perturbed as Beast Boy ripped into the food voraciously. The meal, as large and splendid as it had been, lasted a grand total of twelve minutes as Beast Boy devoured it with a massive appetite to fulfill. When he was done, Beast Boy unleashed a rather frightening loud burp that would have shattered all the glass in the tower, had they not been specially designed to withstand high frequencies and bullets, along with other things.

Of course, this still left the very sensitive ears of the rest of the team susceptible to the shockwave. Beast Boy hadn't a clue until a green blast of energy tore through the doors, and Starfire flew in prepared for anything.

"Where is it?" She yelled, eyes glowing…

"Um…what Star?"

"I swore I heard the battle cry of a Thragthox." Starfire replied, looking as though she expected the devil himself to show up. "They are very dangerous and very violent monsters.

"Um Star, I think that was me…"

"But that would be impossible. Not a being in the universe could mimic that battle cry. Why, it's very sound mortifies my people beyond no extent." Starfire continued, as Beast Boy unleashed another record breaking belch. Two things could have happened in that instance. Starfire could have realized that it was just Beast Boy, putting his amazing lung capacity and gas exhaling talents to good (or not so good, depending on how you look at it) use, or she could have actually taken Beast Boy as the much feared monster she spoke so potently about.

Unfortunately for Beast Boy, the realization came just a little late as a pair of starbolts nearly struck Beast Boy, had he not changed to a mouse in the last moment. Of course, Starfire realized all too late afterwards just what had occurred, and clamped both hands over her mouth, as she saw Beast Boy transform back to his normal self, eyes wide.

"DUDE! You could have killed me!"

"No being in the universe should be able to mimic that cry…" Starfire muttered, before suddenly coming to the conclusion that she had nearly vaporized one of her closest friends. "Friend Beast Boy! Are you alright?" Starfire cried, grappling Beast Boy in one of her signature and quite deadly hugs.

"Not…anymore…" Beast Boy choked out, as he heard several rather alarming cracks emanate from his spine.

"Are you feeling better than you were during the previous evening?" Starfire questioned, dropping Beast Boy from her friendly, pro-wrestler like death grip. Suddenly, Beast Boy's insides flipped as he realized all to well that Starfire had seen him have his nervous breakdown. He could only assume the kind of emotional related issues that sparked in her because of him. Another thing to beat himself up about.

"Ye…yes Star. Much better." Beast Boy replied, scratching the back of his head, and looking at the ground. Starfire grabbed one of Beast Boy's hands within both of her own hands, gently, and smiled at her close friend.

"It makes me glad to see that you are feeling better than you did last evening." Starfire replied.

Beast Boy felt everything inside him melt. Of anyone in the Titans, Starfire had always been friendly to him, even when he treated her like dirt. She never said anything truly bad about him, and aside from the brief mix up a few minutes prior, never attacked him of her own accord. Deep down inside, though he would never admit it, he felt something for her. Her smile would warm his day, and even though she never truly took him seriously, she never purposely put him down either.

Unlike the other female member of the Titans, who had just walked into the room. "Um…Starfire. Do you think I could talk to Beast Boy?" Raven muttered. In her left hand, she was holding a book of some kind, probably another book of spells she was reading, or perhaps a book of poetry she was using.

"Why, of course friend Raven." Starfire replied, waiting for a few minutes. She missed the hint that Raven had tried to send her.

"Um…alone?" Raven continued, looking at Starfire. As good as a person as she was, it did take her a little while longer to truly understand some of the more subtle Earth sayings. She had an excuse though. Unlike Beast Boy, who was tactless, and Robin, who was ignorant in some occasions, Starfire was an alien. She wasn't use to the hidden meanings behind phrases.

"OH! My apologies then. Goodbye friends." Starfire replied, before exiting the room. Of course, Raven mentally reattached the doors, just for privacy's sake, before walking up to the changeling. Needless to say, her view of him had changed drastically in barely half a day. He had gone from being the village idiot to suffering soul. Despite her antics, she just wouldn't feel right insulting him now.

"Raven…" Beast Boy mustered up, still looking down. It caught him off guard when Raven handed him the book in her hand, dropping it rather unceremoniously onto the back of his head, shocking him. Beast Boy grabbed the book, which had found a perfect resting space at the base of his spine, and opened it up.

"It's a book of poetry. I figured maybe if you read some of it, it may just help you get over these nightmares."

"I though that was what you were for?"

"I can help you through them, and try to help you avoid those…outbursts. It may help if you had some vivid imagery in that…" Raven began, stopping herself in mid-insult. However, Beast Boy knew what was meant to be said, or at least what along the lines was meant. He wouldn't say anything though. Why should he? He was Mr. Comic Relief.

"Well, Cyborg has cooked for me, Starfire nearly killed me, and you've given me a book. That just leaves one last…" Beast Boy began, as the alarm went ringing. Without a moment to lose, Raven and Beast Boy charged into the center of the Tower, where Robin had already accessed the emergency alert, and traced it to a place that was all to familiar to Beast Boy.

"Someone's attacking the old quarry!" Robin yelled, looking for more details. A camera quickly came on, revealing a sight that not one of the Titans ever expected to see. A sight that caused a shiver to charge up Robin's back, and a sight that caused Beast Boy's blood to run ice cold.

On the camera was a rather large group of Slade-bots.

The Quarry ------

This was the place that it all went wrong for Beast Boy. He first saw Terra lose control here, and he promised that he'd never tell anyone. Robin ruined that of course, and that led to the single worst moment in his life, the loss of a loved one. All because of two people that Beast Boy truly hated in the world. Robin, the beloved leader of the Titans, and Slade, Robin's greatest foe. And just like before, Slade-Bots had attacked the place, though with no real reason behind it all. Of course, Robin thought Slade was back for either revenge, or for Robin himself.

"Titans GO!" Robin shouted, as the Titan's sprung into action. Like usual, there were a lot of Slade Bots running amuck, which meant a lot of very easy targets for a very agitated group of teenagers. In typical fashion, Robin loosed a couple of smoke bombs, clouding his initial attack on the nearest group of Slade-bots as he jammed his bo-staff into the face plate of the nearest. Raven was quick in her initial charge, flinging a large piece of expensive machinery into a group of Slade's robotic minions, who looked on emotionlessly as they were crushed.

Starfire had immediately gone airborne, loosing starbolts and eye beams into a crowd of Slade-bots, and dodging their return blasts that were fairly short lived, as a blast of sonic energy tore through them like a hot knife through butter. Beast Boy had entered the fray rather viciously, pouncing one on Slade-bot in tiger form, before turning into a gorilla and using the robot as a club. The robots fell in groups, being defeated by the Titans with relative ease, when something caught Beast Boy's attention.

For a brief moment, he laid eyes on Terra.

For a brief moment, Raven felt a scream of joy through her mental link with Beast Boy. She tried to respond, hoping to find what was so happy to him at such a time, but found she could not concentrate when fighting multiple Slade-bots. However, her answer would come soon, and with out warning.

"TERRA!" Beast Boy screamed, turning towards the tunnel he had just seen her in. He saw her again, but this time she was running, and fast.

"BEAST BOY, GET BACK HERE!" Robin yelled, though having little affect whatsoever. Beast Boy continued his charged after Terra, ignoring Robin's warnings, disregarding the other Slade-bots, and remaining completely oblivious to the bombs that went off in a ring of fire at the mouth of each tunnel. Beast Boy was through with ease, but he was now locked away from the Titans.

Not that he cared much. This was Terra he was chasing, and he was catching up on her. The chase led on, Beast Boy breathing heavily as he finally leapt, and tackled the young girl's legs. The two clattered to the ground, and Terra broke.

Or, the Terra robot broke. It took Beast Boy only a fraction of a second to realize it. He didn't even have time to curse himself for being stupid enough to believe such a fake scam, as another loud bomb roared just behind him, and a waterfall of rock and dust crumbled just to his rear. He was completely separated from his teammates and alone in the cave, minding a broken Slade-bot that looked remarkably like Terra.

"Wait…why would there be a robot looking like Terra… Terra was important to me…not Robin…" Beast Boy began, looking around in the small cave. The most obvious thing was the small object of light just beside him, and the second most obvious thing was the severe lack of exits in the rather small room.

Of course there was one broken Terra bot, his own handiwork, that he assumed was used to get someone's attention. _'Maybe Raven was supposed to see it. Slade could use her. But why would it run away when I saw it then…'_ Beast Boy worked out in his head, as he laid his eyes on something. That something wound up being a single, unblinking eye staring towards the green changeling with eagerness dancing about within, masked by composure. Beast Boy's eyes widened, in the most perfect display of fear the man had ever witnessed.

He backed up as best as he could, but he could only go so far as he began backing into a wall of rocks. From the shadows stalked the man that had haunted his dreams for so long, that has haunted him like a ghost for a solid month. The same mask he had seen in every dream he had was now in front of him, slowly approaching the young changeling.

"Hello Beast Boy." The voice said calmly, as the tiniest gasp escaped Beast Boy's trembling lips.

* * *

**Insaneiac:** Ooh, as far as cliffhangers go, that may just be my most evil one yet… I'm even shuddering at its super evilness. Revel in my evil superpower of cliffhangers. 


	4. Chapter 4: A Real Nightmare

Insaneiac: ARGH! You had to ask the pairing question? Well, with the way this fic is going, I'm actually aiming for it to be a Raven/Beast Boy pairing (don't kill me!), with a tiny bit of one-sided Beast Boy/Starfire. Any Rob/Rae fans out there, or BB/T fans, realize that I am one of you; it's just that this pairing works better for the story. Okay, enough self-justification. Oh yeah, and a bit of a warning. This chapter has angst in it. Lots of it.

**Reviews**

**Ubermann:**_ Snapping is the least of his issues. Thanks for the compliment._

**LadyMaundrell:**_ Yes. Yes I do. It makes my heart sing to see you suffer at the claws of my cliffhangers. –Insert evil laugh here- I'm just playing. Enjoy the chapter._

**We Gots good gramer:**_ You had to ask the damned pairing question, didn't you! And I hate me too, so we're good._

**Kazzy103:**_ I must admit, I thought the Thragthox thing was fairly well done, though I've done better. And yes, that cliffy was evil. So evil, infact, that churches have begun preaching against my cliffhangers. Yes, I do intend to put Beast Boy through the proverbial ringer, but it's for his…scratch that, our own good. And for the record, or at least, for what I know, Terra and Beast Boy were an item for a while._

**NumbuhZero:**_ Ahh thanks. I am cool aren't I? Beyond that, here's an update, and enjoy it._

**Rebel-Aquarius:**_ I swear, I have attack dogs. BIG ONES! That have machine guns on their heads. BIG ONES! And the more you threaten, the more killing him looks like an interesting twist. Enjoy the chapter, and bring it on._

**Alexnandru Van Gordon:**_ Thank you for not saying more, and yes, Robin is acting like a jerk. A big stupid jerk. And yes, Cyborg can be nice…once in a blue man. _

**Chibi Scooby:**_ ALL HAIL CREAMPUFFS! Story continuing…check. Chapter greatness…check. Comatose…check. It all looks good. Enjoy the chapter._

**Eryka O.G.:**_ Update here, enjoy. And yes, like I mentioned, that ranks as my most evil cliffy yet. Go me, oh yeah!_

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything but the plot. My plot. And apparently, it's a good plot. Oh yeah, I own Winry too. Go me!

* * *

Chapter 4: A Real Nightmare

* * *

Three simple words. 

That was all that they were. Just three simple, insignificant words.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Beast Boy screamed, unable to back away anymore. Slade stared in amazement. He knew he had an affect on people, especially the weak minded, but even this was beyond him. Never before had the annoying little changeling been so terrified of him, yet here he was now, quivering as though Slade had been haunting him like a ghost, never leaving his mind, always grasping at his soul.

Among many things, it made Slade smile. Fear was a powerful weapon to have, and Beast Boy had given him more fear than Robin or anyone had ever given him.

"Get away? Why would I want to do that?" Slade replied, closing the gap between himself and his soon-to-be pet. "What would possibly make me want to leave? I brought you here did I not?"

"You didn't mean too. It was for someone else."

"Then why would I have used a robot designed to look like Terra?"

"Go after Robin! That's what you do!" Beast Boy cried, closing his eyes as he watched man approach. _'It's not real. I knocked myself out when I took down the Slade bot… it's just another nightmare… THIS ISN'T REAL.'_

"I'm not here for Robin Beast Boy." Slade responded, looking down at the quivering green Titan. "I'm here for someone else. Someone who I know is more deadly, and much more useful to me than Robin ever was." It wasn't a total lie, but it wasn't totally true either.

"Then take Raven. Take Cyborg! Take Starfire even!" Beast Boy cried, scurrying away from Slade, to the opposite end of the room. Slade stared in amazement as he watched Beast Boy run and hide instead of attack, but was even more amazed by the fact that he had just tried to sell out his best friends. The smile widened, the control deepened. "Just leave me alone… Just leave me alone…" Beast Boy muttered weakly.

"I don't want any of them." Slade continued, as he wrapped his hand around the back of Beast Boy's neck, and lifted him off the ground. He turned him, and forced him to stare into his one eye. Beast Boy could fully see his disgusting intention hidden behind his unnerving, daunting stare, while Slade could see Beast Boy's fear and agony, behind his innocent and pure eyes.

Tears flowed freely, as he kicked and moaned, desperately trying to get free. Slade had no clue of what Beast Boy had been going through. Had he, Slade would had relished in Beast Boy's death-like fear of him, before finally breaking his mind like a twig under an elephant. However, he still needed his collar before he would truly take Beast Boy away. Truly, all the importance held in this meeting was purely just to let him know that he would be Slade's property. That soon, all the freedoms of his life, the joys, the blessings, the fun times, the friends, the best friends, and the pleasure of life would be taken from him, and tossed away to rot. That his life would soon become bound to Slade by that of a leash. And beyond all, that he would lose his joyful freedom that he treasured so.

And he would never be free again.

"I'm here for you, Beast Boy."

Main Pit ------

Robin pulled his bo-staff aggressively from the destroyed chest region of a grounded Slade-Bot, which had just been the last standing attacker in the crowd. It had been the exact same as last time they were here. A weak, pitiful attack force to do the initial attack, while Slade went after a target he set out.

"WHERE'S BEAST BOY!" Robin growled, turning to Cyborg.

"Can't tell, his communicator isn't picking up."

"Why, WHY would he run off like that!" Robin growled, as he looked around the room. Tunnels were destroyed, all besides the one behind them. They needed to reach Beast Boy. "He could be dead for all we know!"

"Friend Robin, I do not believe Beast Boy is dead." Starfire replied, hopeful as always.

"He'll wish he was when I get through with him." Robin muttered. He had not only run off during the middle of a battle and he endangered himself greatly, but he also broke code. The Titan's were supposed to fight together, never abandoning the team to go after a specific goal. Beast Boy had already done that once, and he almost died because of it. Then again, he did it enough himself, and still hadn't learned the consequences. It almost cost him his mind once.

"Robin, calm down. It's Beast Boy. He probably tripped over his own feet." Cyborg replied, still attempting to pick up the communicator. Raven's eyes twitched as Cyborg said his piece, a slight glare burning into his back. "And as far as I can tell, he landed on his comm., the idiot."

"But what if it is something worse! WE NEED TO FIND HIM!" Robin yelled, rage and conviction flowing through his voice.

"You're overreacting Robin." Raven intervened, looking around. She could sense something, something trickling into her sub-consciousness. It felt like fear, or something very close to it.

"Overreacting!" Robin replied, turning towards Raven. He was even more insulted when he found her not even staring at him, but rather off in space. "I'm worried about my team Raven! Beast Boy is somewhere out there, and we can't find him! What if Slade is here? What if Slade found him?" Finishing, Robin turned towards the un-blasted tunnel. Raven gave a slight sigh, and then turned towards the tunnel to help find Beast Boy.

"Huh…" Raven started, turning fiercely. Robin and Starfire turned to her, both with questioning looks in their eyes, moments away from asking a question when Raven's eyes lit up like bonfires. "Beast Boy…!SLADE! NO!" Raven screamed, before breaking off in a sprint.

"RAVEN, WAIT!" Robin called, having no effect on her. Raven disappeared into the wall, leaving the rest of the team behind. Starfire was confused, Cyborg indifferent, and Robin was irate.

"Doesn't anyone listen!" Robin growled, slightly in anger, more in concern. It was purely unlike Raven to just run off like that. Not to mention that the typical Slade formula still lingered in the air. Where Slade-bots were, Slade was too. Robin turned sharply towards the available tunnel, and with the last two remaining team mates, charged off to find Beast Boy.

Slade and Beast Boy ------

All the crying had ceased, the tears stopped, and the struggling ended as Slade finished his sentence. "I'm here for you and that little friend of yours Beast Boy."

"Why… Why me…?" Beast Boy choked out, in more of a weak whisper than anything. "I've…I've done nothing to you!"

"Dear boy, it's not what you have done to me, but what you will do."

"Why…?" Beast Boy choked out, trying to look away. He wanted to look at something, anything, other than his mask. "Why not Robin? Why me…?"

"I've watched Robin for quite some time, long before the Titans truly existed. True, I only took deep interest in him when he came to my city, but I've known about him for a long time. Robin was a warrior, a fighter, and a survivor. Every time I watched him fight, I saw something I could mold. Then I saw you Beast Boy. I thought you were nothing more than an annoyance, a pest."

"I am… I'm not worth anything to you. I'm…useless." Beast Boy choked out, more serious than he had ever been in his life. So serious that it hurt him to no end.

"Quite the contrary." Slade replied, before his voice took a sinister dive. "And I don't like being lied to." Slade drilled his free hand into Beast Boy's stomach, and driving all the air from his lungs. His squeal of pain was almost as rewarding as the sound of his tears on the ground, or the sight of the fear in his eyes. "You are an animal. You have the primal instincts and bestial senses that give you an edge. Robin is, like myself, a warrior. We're survivors. But you are much more vicious than a warrior Beast Boy. To put it blatantly, you're a beast. A beast that I want as my own."

Beast Boy merely whimpered, as he felt the last fragments of his hope fade away. Raven was right; they were more than just dreams. They were more than just nightmares. They were premonitions. And had Beast Boy just swallowed his pride, and stopped hiding behind a stupid smile and witless jokes, he could have told Robin and the rest. They could have helped him. They could have protected him.

They could have saved him from Slade. But it was too late now. Slade was here, and the rest of the Titans were as far from him and his tormentor as possible. Slade had all the time he wanted and Beast Boy had no where to run, and no place to hide.

"I don't want to be your beast." Beast Boy muttered weakly, a tear finding it's way down his cheek. _'Someone…anyone…help me please…Raven…Robin…where are you…I'm scared…help me please...'_

"Frankly, I don't give a damn what you want Beast Boy. It's what I want. I wanted Robin first, and I almost had him." Slade began; pausing as he tightened his grip on Beast Boy's neck, rewarded was a squeal of pain. "But you, along with those other pathetic Titans, kept him from me. Now I want you Beast Boy, and I doubt any of them will miss someone as pathetic as you, until they see you kill like the animal you are. Then they will fear you like a demon, and attack you like an enemy."

"NO!" Beast Boy yelled, as loud as he could. A sharp punch connected with Slade's mask, causing the man to stumble backwards, and drop his prey. It also cracked the mask, clean along the side. Not enough to break, but just enough to impress the maniac stalking Beast Boy. It had been something he wanted to test, a theory. He still believed that Beast Boy as a human was a useless annoyance, but the chemicals still enhanced his physical strength, more so when emotional. It may have been the were-beast he wanted, but he also wanted to watch the Titans fall.

And what better way to beat them then to do it with their own best friend.

"You see Beast Boy; you get stronger when you're emotional. You get deadlier when you're angry. Those pathetic "friends" of your fear you because of this. You scare them. They don't know when you will lose control, but they expect it." Slade began, grabbing a second punch, and using Beast Boy's momentum to toss him to the ground. He quickly followed up by pinning him to the ground with his knee, firmly planted on his chest. "Right now, they see you as nothing more than a threat. When I'm done with you, they'll see you as nothing more than a monster."

"No they won't." Beast Boy growled. "NO THEY WON'T!"

"Stop lying to yourself boy! Why do you defend those that hate you?" Slade continued, watching with a disgusting sense of joy in his eye as Beast Boy struggled. "They would lock you away, or even kill you. I, on the other hand, have great plans for you child."

Beast Boy's eyes had become lost in his fury. The innocence lingered, but was now accompanied by one of the sweetest emotions in the world, hatred. Slade watched, amused, as Beast Boy struggled to get the much stronger man off him, but couldn't even manage to make him twitch, even with his enhanced strength.

"I DON'T CARE!" Beast Boy yelled, attempting another punch, only to have his hand grabbed and slammed into the floor. "I'm not going to be your damned pet!" Beast Boy growled, as if it were a death threat. "And you can take you damned speeches and your damned plans, AND ROT IN HELL!"

"How poetic. What it is that makes you think that you could stop me?" Slade replied, his tone deadly smooth.

"Robin! He'll…"

"Lock you away in fear and turn you into a menace before your friends' eyes, just like I would. Face it, if you go to Robin, he'll be just as cruel to you as I am, and you know it to be true."

"Raven…she'll…"

"She'll tell Robin, fearing you. Sooner of later Beast Boy you are going to have to realize that you are mine now. You won't tell any of them just out of the fear that they may hate you. Your silence will result in you being plucked from them by myself. You'll never see them again. At least, not until I unleash you on them. Either way Beast Boy, you will lose."

Slade had him trapped. His trust was broken, his will was fleeting, and his anger rising. Now was the perfect time to do it. He watched as Beast Boy's eyes began to show another emotion, one that represented the very basics of victory. They showed sorrow. Beast Boy knew what he said to be true. He knew Robin would do that, in the clever disguise as it being for his own good. And Raven would sell him out, just like Cyborg would. Suddenly, his eyes lit up with his last, dire hope.

"Starfire will help me." Beast Boy whispered, more than likely trying to convince himself. Slade had not been expecting her name to show up. His eye showed it, but only for a very brief period of time. "Starfire won't let you take me. She won't let Robin cage me!"

"Starfire?" Slade said, a disdainful sting accompanying her name. "Starfire would fear you more than anyone. She'd cry at night, stuck between keeping your trust and watching you slowly degrade into a monster. And when you're gone, she'll break down." Slade replied, watching Beast Boy's rage. "You would hurt her beyond anything anyone has done to her, just by putting that burden on her. Then they would hate you even more Beast Boy."

The words had their intended effect, as Beast Boy's last hope, his dire need to believe in someone, faded from his eyes. What was left was an empty rage, a damaged sense of need, and a total lack of emotion, other than hopelessness. Slade had Beast Boy pinned to the ground, not just physically, but emotionally and mentally as well.

"To put it quite plainly Beast Boy…" Slade began, lowering his face, hidden behind his sinister and now crack masked, to Beast Boy's frantic, pure, and defeated eyes. Anticipation lay within his one eye, as he watched the green slowly drain from Beast Boy's face. "You are going to be the perfect, little pet." Slade finished, a razor sharp sting accompanying the last three words.

"No…no…no…" Beast Boy cried out, tossing his head side to side, until Slade grabbed him by the chin, and forced him to look back at him, back into his eye.

"Oh yes. And there is not a thing you can do about it. You will be my little dog. You will do what I tell you to do, when I tell you to do it. If you don't, I will punish you, brutally, just like a master would his dog."

Beast Boy felt everything sink, falling deeper within him than anything had ever felt before. Watching Terra sacrifice herself, turning into a monster, being attacked by the Titans, nothing could compare to the emotions her was feeling at that precise moment. "No." Beast Boy whispered weakly.

"You act as though you have a say in the matter Beast Boy." Slade replied, grabbing his collar with both hands, and tossing him into the collapsed tunnel wall. "You have three days left to enjoy your freedom Beast Boy. After that, you are mine." Slade responded as he began walking towards the shadow's he came from. As he was leaving, he turned his head one last time to observe his pet. His eye lit up with passion when he saw him, lying on the ground, weeping like a lost little child.

"We'll have to fix that first, won't we?" Slade finished, before disappearing into the conveniently placed hole in the ceiling, leaving a broken Beast Boy wallowing in his own self despair, and left to fight his own demons within him. Beast Boy could have chased him, he could have used the tunnel to escape the room, and he could have done many things. But he didn't want to. He didn't have the motivation to do anything at that exact time.

He did nothing except lie on his hand and knees, weeping like a child into the ground, one hand crunched up in a fist, and the other hand grabbing at the ground. "No…" Beast Boy choked out, burying his face into the dusty ground of the room. "NOOO!" He screamed, louder than he had ever screamed before. For the first time in his life, he felt completely and totally lost. Slade told him outright, three days. Three days to run away from life, three days to try and tell Robin, three days until he never saw their smiles or tears again.

And alone he wept bitterly, his tears staining the dirt floor.

"IT WAS SUPPOSED TO JUST BE NIGHTMARES!" Beast Boy yelled into the ground, slamming his fist down on the hard floor. He wanted to lift his head from the dirty ground, he wanted to stop crying and start planning, but he didn't have it in him. His worst nightmares were coming true, and he was completely and utterly powerless to do anything about it.

"Beast Boy?" A voice muttered. Slowly, Beast Boy raised his head from the ground, locking eyes with the one person who knew the truth. Her usual steady, monotonous voice had been dashed, replaced with one of concern. But the most considerable difference in her appearance was her eyes. They had softened considerably when she locked eyes with Beast Boy, and saw the lack of hope and the unbelievable suffering within his eyes.

Raven quickly broke her stare, and looked towards his left. There was a busted Slade-bot, but it was made to look like Terra. _'That bastard…'_ Raven's eyes flared with anger. Slade had used Terra to get to Beast Boy. "Beast Boy…are you…"

"Why me?" Beast Boy choked out. "WHY COULDN'T IT BE ROBIN? WHY COULDN'T IT BE YOU?" Beast Boy yelled, his voice cracking. "WHY ME RAVEN? WHY?

Raven couldn't say anything. She couldn't return with a comment, or with an explanation. She couldn't even frown at him. All she could do was watch him struggle on the ground, suffering. Slade had been here, and he had been here for Beast Boy. She knew he was here the minute Beast Boy ran off, the minute she could see Terra in his mind.

"I'm sorry…" Raven muttered, walking beside Beast Boy, and kneeling beside him. She fully expected Beast Boy to yell at her, or to just continue crying. "I should have seen it coming. I knew your dreams were premonitions. They showed all the usual signs of them being so…" Her voiced failed her as she watched Beast Boy. She could only imagine the suffering he was going through. "What did he…?"

"He told me that he wants me. He's coming for me." Beast Boy began, his voice still quivering. "He said that he wanted the perfect little pet." For a brief period of time, there was nothing but silence. Even Beast Boy had stopped weeping. "And he promised that, no matter what I do, he'd come for me."

"We have got to tell Robin."

"NO!" Beast Boy yelled, out of the blue. _'Lock you away in fear and turn you into a menace before your friends' eyes'_ He could still hear Slade's threats ringing in his mind, as loud and as clear as a gong. "Don't you dare!"

"Beast Boy, he can help!" Raven argued back, as she stared into Beast Boy's eyes. She didn't need them to tell, but she could see it in his eyes just as she could feel it in his mind. There was fear in his eyes. Fear of Slade and his plans, but fear of Robin as well. What was most disturbing of all was that his fear of Robin was greater than of Slade.

"What has you so scared about telling him?"

"Robin won't help me, he'll lock me away. He'll turn me into a menace."

"Beast Boy, that's nonsense! Why would Robin do that?"

"Because, Slade's after…after..." Beast Boy stuttered, as Raven's soft eyes open wider. She could see in his eyes who he was talking about. Someone that Slade should have known absolutely nothing about.

"He wants your Were-Beast form! How could he possibly have known about that?" Raven remarked, both frightened and confused.

"I DON'T CARE HOW HE KNOWS!" Beast Boy yelled, breaking his eye contact with Raven. "HE JUST KNOWS!"

Suddenly, realization began to set into Raven's eyes. Beast Boy was scared of Robin for all the wrong reasons, but none the less, he had a point. The last time something concerning his Were-Beast form showed up, Robin outright went on the offensive against Beast Boy. Despite it being completely unreasonable in her eyes, she had also seen inside his head, and Beast Boy had every right to be afraid of Robin just from what she saw.

"Fine. I won't tell him a thing." Raven answered softly. "You will."

"Like hell I will!"

"Beast Boy you'd better. Tomorrow you tell him everything. Today I'll keep Robin off you, so you can get some rest. I have no doubt that what he said has left a negative effect over you. But tomorrow, you either tell him, or I will. Robin needs to know."

"But Raven…"

"BEAST BOY!" Raven yelled, uncharacteristically. Beast Boy's thought process had been completely tossed aside, as a pair of hands grabbed him by the cuff of his outfit, and hoisted him off the ground, and bringing him to eye level with Raven. "Listen to me very closely, as this will be the only time I say this. Despite my attitude towards you, you remain one of my closest, if not my closest, friends. You can not fight Slade alone. Robin tried, and he nearly became his servant! I am not going to watch as one of my friends, one of my closest friends, falls right into Slade's hands because he was too STUPID to ask for help!" Raven voiced, their eyes never blinking, never shifting. "I absolutely refuse to let you go like that…"

For the longest time, there was nothing but silence. Raven still had a rock-hard grip on Beast Boy, and Beast Boy had still not broken his stare with Raven. Finally, Beast Boy gave a long, pained sigh, and turned his head to the left side. "I'll tell him tomorrow."

"Promise?"

"I swear on it. I'll tell Robin everything, _tomorrow_." Beast Boy finished, before finding his emotions catching up to him. Slowly, Beast Boy's head found itself resting on Raven's shoulder, as his tears began to come back. Slowly, and with what seemed like a little confusion, a hand patted him on the back of his head, as Beast Boy felt everything rushing back. Raven had never seen Beast Boy so depressed, so completely and utterly lost in sadness. There were no jokes from him, no stupid remark, and no goofy smiles. All there was were silent tears dropping onto her blue cloak, and a trembling Beast Boy resting his head atop her shoulder. For the first time in her life, she felt truly sorry for Beast Boy.

"Why does it have to be me Rae… why me?"

"I don't know Beast Boy." Raven replied, looking off in the distance. "I just don't know."

* * *

Insaneiac: First things first…I am still a BB/T fan. The only reason I am now implementing BB/Rae is because it will really amp the story line. However, this isn't a romance fic, so don't worry. This is still about Beast Boy and a possessive Slade chasing him. 


	5. Chapter 5: Quoth The Raven

Insaneiac: So I get my hands on Emotive (A Perfect Circle CD) and now I can't get the songs out of my skull. The single darkest album I've ever listened too, and that is saying something. So, one of the sets of lyrics may or may not have found their way in here. Not a song, pray say, but just a line of lyrics. A line of lyrics, and a rather hard written scene derived from roughly my favorite poem ever.

**Reviews**

**The Ubermann:**_ Well, as far as it matters to Beast Boy, he most likely believes Slade to be telling the truth._

**LadyMaundrell:**_ I'm glad you like the pair…it kills me on the inside to write. Hope you like this chapter._

**Alexnandru Van Gordon:**_ The three words refer to "Hello Beast Boy" said by Slade at the end of chapter 3. Glad you love it. I figured you would like seeing me take a break on making Robin suffer. No more spoilers for you, you'll just have to wait and read. Enjoy_

**TDG3RD:**_ I'll say this much, if you don't know how I tend to write my stories, I'll say this. It's going to get worse._

**Chibi Scooby:**_ Worst nightmare! I think you'll love this chapter then. ALL HAIL INSANITY!_

**Kazzy103:**_ This is going to be a hard chapter for you I think. Beware, Beast Boy suffering aplenty. Enjoy the chapter. And thank you for the compliment about the pairing ordeal. That was really cool._

**Eryka O.G.:**_ Warning to you Eryka. In my evil little world, no one is too cute to be tortured. _

**keri2004:**_ A little late, but an update still. Enjoy it._

**billy:**_ Comon… where is the fun in that. You think this is easy? I love Beast Boy (Not like that Alexnandru!) and I am putting him through hell._

**GizmoBunny:**_ Really? I'd want to read that someday. I believe that Beast Boy wouldn't be the kind of person who'd just go towards Slade. I believe he'd do whatever it took to avoid him. Thanks for the review, hope you keep reading._

**HeX-VaiN:**_ Ahh yes, Captain Kalashnikov. Glad you like the story, and I hope you keep with. _

**Rebel-Aquarius:**_ HAH! I'm already being haunted by the ghost of Christmas past, and Casper. Do yer worst Rebel. I am glad you like the story, and expect Beast Boy to go through even more hell this chapter. Just because I love him so damned much. _

**Timberfoxen:**_ Two words my hyper little friend: decaf coffee. Enjoy the chapter._

**Goth Jedi:**_ Thanks, glad you like it. Enjoy_

**DarkBeast:**_ Why do you all assume I'm going to off the green one? I'm glad you like it, and thanks. I desperately try to keep characters in character. Makes it more realistic. Enjoy_

**FireHawk038:**_ You really think so! Wow… Awesome. Enjoy._

**Christine:**_ Don't worry, I won't disappoint. BB and Were-Beast relations to one another are going to become real focal, real fast. And this is Slade; he'll always be in it. Enjoy._

**Shadow Avenger:**_ Thanks, but I don't know about this being that great. I do thank you for the compliments, and here is your update my friend. Enjoy._

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Titans. I own Winry and the plot. That is it and that is all.

* * *

Chapter 5: Quoth The Raven…

* * *

It took some time for Beast Boy to trembling and weeping, and all Raven could do was wait. She didn't want to rush him, or insult him, and she couldn't tell him it would all be okay, or that it was all a bad dream. All she could do, all she would do, was waiting for Beast Boy to calm down, to stop crying, and to get a grip on the cold reality that had just caught up with him. She couldn't even begin to grasp what Beast Boy was going through, or even what he was coming to terms with. What she did know was very basic, and very limited.

This whole thing had been a setup so Slade could instill his own brand of nightmarish fear in Beast Boy's already troubled mind. She could have gone into his head and try to help him out, but in honesty she was scared as well. She had no clue what was going on inside his head at that time. She could do more damage than good, and hurt Beast Boy further. For all she knew, she could even kill him doing something like that.

And with all her power, she would not lie to him by telling him it would be alright. She would not say something like that when she herself had no clue what to expect around the corner. Beyond that, she knew telling him that everything would be okay would only provoke yelling from him. If it was one thing she knew from experience with dealing Slade, it was this: it was never alright until it was all over. Robin knew it, and almost wound up stuck forever. Terra learned it, and died by it.

Now, regrettably, it was Beast Boy's turn to experience Slade's unforgiving grasp, and true to her words there was only one person alive that could possibly help Beast Boy avoid or, in the worst case scenario, survive Slade. Even if Slade didn't come for him, even if it all was just scare tactics to get to Robin, Beast Boy could not survive Slade on his own. He needed the help of the one person he seemed to fear the most.

Robin.

"Common Beast Boy. We've got to get back to the others." Raven uttered, in her steadiest tone available. Slowly, she helped Beast Boy to his feet, barely able to stand under his own power. It wasn't that he was hurt; it was that he just didn't feel like trying anything. He wanted to disappear, to run away, to be that insignificant and useless comic relief he made himself out to be. He wanted to hide beneath the covers of his bed like he did when he was younger, hiding from his mother when she brought the cough medicine.

To be frank, the one thing he wanted to do more than anything else was not exist.

Raven phased through the cave wall, Beast Boy in tow, and began to make her way back towards the rest of the team. She was going to have a hell of a time trying to explain not only Beast Boy's running off, but the injuries he sustained without setting off Robin's red alert. It would be no small challenge, she knew that. The fact that Slade's robots had been here had been bad enough.

'_But God almighty help whoever tries to hound Beast Boy for information'_ Raven mentally raged, her eyes briefly burning red. _'God help the poor soul indeed…'_

------ Robin ------

To say he was angry would have been a bit of an overstatement of all things. All things given, the leader of the Titans was more concerned about Beast Boy than anything. Anger was just what he was using to cover it up. When Robin was concerned about someone, he let his imagination build on the worst possible outcome. When Robin was angry with someone, he focused more on finding that person to give him hell.

Needless to say, Robin preferred anger over concern, at least for the time being. "Cyborg! Anything?"

"Raven is moving again. Coming right towards us…" Cyborg replied, looking at his arm computer. "Fact, they just ahead of…"

Cyborg couldn't even finish as Raven phased out of the cave wall, catching an off guard Robin and Starfire. Starfire jumped like a cat coming in contact with water, squealing like a scared girl scout and hiding behind Cyborg. Robin just flinched slightly, trying his best to pull off his usual strong and reliable act and denying that Raven had just scared the ever loving anger out of him. And beside her, supported by Raven, was Beast Boy. A rather beaten Beast Boy.

"BB!" Cyborg yelled, running up to his best friend. He did nothing to hide the relief in his voice, as he ran towards his friend. His friend who was barely standing under his own power at the moment. Cyborg grabbed Beast Boy by the shoulders and shook him quickly, looking into the eyes of his best friend. It truly shook him on the inside to see the hurt hiding within Beast Boy's eyes. "BB…what happened?"

"He was ambushed by a group of Slade's robots… The old divide and conquer routine." Raven droned, smooth as silk. The lie worked easily on Cyborg and Starfire but not as well as it should on Robin.

"Then why does he still look okay…for the most part?" Robin replied, his voice unsteady. Raven was totally sure that behind his mask, Robin's eyes were screaming the message he refused to.

"He makes a point… BB what happened?" Cyborg replied again, Beast Boy sucking air in.

'_Time to swallow my pride…'_ A long sigh escaped Beast Boy's lips, as he did his best to paint on his usual 'village fool' face and routine. "Nothing… I just tripped on a rock after I chased after a rogue Slade Bot dudes." Beast Boy said, his voice surprisingly steady. Raven felt herself twitch as she heard Beast Boy sacrifice himself a little more. She felt like slapping him and telling him off, telling him to stop hiding behind a mask of stupid grins and witless jokes.

That was when she heard Cyborg laughing, and saw him "pat" Beast Boy on the back. "I knew it! BB man, we need to work on your footing!" She would have killed him right there, absolutely torn him limb from limb for that, had Robin not adopted the look of someone who believe the truth. "You could have been really hurt Beast Boy."

"Yeah… you need to stop being so reckless and clumsy. One of these days, it'll end badly for you." Robin replied, sternly. Raven's eyes briefly flashed red, before she felt herself say something she had no control over.

"I am glad friend Beast Boy is not having a sleep in the ground."

A collective sigh came from the group, as Cyborg looked towards the rather clueless alien girl. "Starfire… its dirt nap. It's shorter and sweeter than… well than that."

A rock, a rather large rock, bounced off Cyborg's head. Well, replace bounce with slammed and large rock with boulder. Cyborg took a dive into the near by cave wall, and everyone quickly looked at Raven, who had adopted the look of someone almost angered by what just happened.

"Sorry… I let my emotions slip." Raven replied, smooth as silk. This time, everyone believed her. Even Cyborg believed her, who was busy pulling his face from the rock, and spitting out the gravel. Didn't precisely mean he was happy about it, and Raven knew that her "slip" had put him in one of his fowler moods.

'_He deserved it.'_ She thought, lightly smiling to herself.

------ Titan Tower ------

The group got back late, bones and bodies aching quite badly. For most of the Titans, they had battle scars and bruises to gloat about, and despite his cover story, they all stayed away from poking fun at Beast Boy. Not necessarily because of the fact that Raven had lost control of her emotions briefly, but more or less because of his nightmares. None of them wanted to experience the layers of hell they had before. Beast Boy was among the few at the tower who really had, at least in their eyes, nothing to freak out about. He had very little to ever moan about, or to get depressed about.

Then again, not many of them knew the real Garfield Logan.

Who at the time was sitting in his room, sitting in a corner of his closet, reading a book that was given to him not five hours ago. He had no lights on, wanting to be left in the darkness that he felt he couldn't escape, using only a flashlight to read the words. It was a book of poetry, and he was reading a rather specific poem. One that he had stumbled upon by accident, with a name that caught his eye with ease. By all means, he would have closed the book had he seen it before the day had happened, he would have forgotten all about it and gone back to being the village idiot… but he couldn't escape the name.

"Deep into the darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before; but the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token, and the only word there spoken was the whispered word, Lenore, This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, "Lenore!" Merely this, and nothing more." Beast Boy read quietly, his eyes darting from line to line.

Of all the poetry in the book, he had picked the only one that represented something to him, that reflected something within him. When his eyes crossed over the word Lenore, he saw Terra, when they slid across the raven, he ironically saw a combination of people. Raven, the friend that watched over him, and Slade, the menace that watched him. And then there was the darkness. The darkness represented nothing, and everything to him.

It represented the boating accident that took his parents away from him. It represented the people that tried to kill him, just for his parents wealth. It represented the people that would call him a menace to society, in the guise of protection. Most of all, it represented the deep and angry evil hiding inside him, biding it's time. And he was surrounded by it all… the eyes of his friend, the glares of the dead, the echoes of the darkness.

Yet it did something unprecedented. To any other person going through what he was going through, that poem would have disturbed them. To Beast Boy, it left him feeling relieved. It left him feeling as though someone else was suffering like he was, that he was not alone in it all.

"And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor shall be lifted---nevermore!" Beast Boy finished, closing the book and turning off the flashlight. A tear slowly trailed itself down his cheek, as she stood up to leave his closet, convinced that he was safe inside it. He opened it up, and walked out of it, leaving the book beside his desk, and tossing the flashlight onto the bed as he made his way to the door.

"And I thought you hated books…" A voice said from behind him. Beast Boy whipped around, almost ready to attack, when he saw Raven in the shadows. He may not have the awesome abilities and skills the others did, but he could see fairly well in the dark, not well enough to read, but well enough to see enough of someone to tell who it was.

"I was just… curious…" Beast Boy muttered. He preferred the dark right now. He couldn't bear to look into her eyes, to see what her eyes would be saying about him right then. "The title was hard to avoid."

"Why did you do that?"

"What?"

"Make yourself look like a fool in the mines." Raven replied, peering at him through the darkness. If he could have seen her eyes, he would have seen the care in her eyes.

But he couldn't. "They didn't believe you. I knew they would believe something like that." Beast Boy muttered, sitting down on his bed, facing away from Raven. "I'm Mr. Comic Relief after all. I'm just supposing to grim and bear it all."

A hand rested on his shoulder, soft and forgiving. "Beast Boy, You got to give them a chance to see the real you."

A sneer and a snort came in return. "And what would you know about the real me? No one has ever bothered to talk to me, or even ask about my past. Even Robin has revealed more about his past than me. For all you know, this is the real me!"

"Then why do you hurt as badly as you do now?" Raven replied, a spike of emotion tuned behind her usual tone. "Why do you need to hide behind the mask of a fool?"

Beast Boy lowered his head, as Raven finished he rebuttal. Why did it have to be her, of all the people, interested in his past? "I'm tired… I'd like to go to sleep." Beast Boy muttered, breathing in slowly. Outside the room he could hear Cyborg and Robin laughing at something. Probably at one of Starfire's attempts to apply earth lingo to her normal speaking routines.

A small frown rolled onto Raven's face. It was partly because of the laughter, partly because of Beast Boy hiding behind the guise of being tired. However, she had heard his voice, and heard beyond the usual Beast Boy tone, to something a lot steadier. Something a world more truthful than the emotional façade he hid behind with everyone else.

"Alright then." Raven replied, the caring gone from her voice, as business took over. She sat down on the bed, crossing her legs. "Turn around, and put your palms on mine." Raven muttered. Looking at his friend unsurely, Beast Boy finally did it, crossing his legs to mimic the pose Raven was in. "Now then, I want you to slowly repeat the same things I say. Okay?"

"Okay." Beast Boy replied, his voice slightly weak.

"Azarath…Metrion…Zinthos…" Raven began, her pace slow and her pronunciation flawless. She paused as she listened to Beast Boy repeat them, wholly expecting to hear him say something completely and utterly stupid. It would be the second time that evening he surprised her.

"Azarath…Metrion…Zinthos…" Beast Boy repeated, a little slower than Raven had been. A small smile crossed Raven's face, as she continued chanting the mantra, matching Beast Boy's speed until they were saying the mantra in tandem.

------ Winry's Lab ------

Lin Winry had been busying herself with the task of creating the collar Slade had designed for her. She felt like killing him before he had come in that morning, and then she had felt like slaughtering him after he left. The collar had taken a good form, and within the day he had given her to start, the shocking system had been completed. Regulating emotions was about half-way done, on paper, and she was utterly lost on how to make it control something there was only one of. No field testing, no test subjects, just gut instinct.

Gut instinct and the knowledge that Slade would torture her to no end if she failed. Slade may have been a very cool and calculated person, but failure angered him like nothing else. She had seen him angry before, both at her and others. She quickly learned that an angry Slade resulted in multiple broken bones, and a very painful day. She had suffered to no end one night, where Slade beaten her into an unconscious state, then threw her into his special little "dark room."

Getting beat by Slade was one thing, but the dark room was much worse.

Slowly, she pieced together mentally the little things she would have to do to regulate emotions. It was no easy task, requiring a few things. The first would be a system that injects a faction of nanobots into his spinal cord. The second would be making sure they made their way to his emotional control centers, and the third would be to have the nanobots dull all emotions at the press of a button, or specific ones at the press of a different set of buttons.

All in all, she felt disgusted with what she was doing. She had seen the battle footage, observed the field data, and even had a chance to see them up close, though they never noticed her, and of all the Titans, Beast Boy was the most innocent. She couldn't believe she was helping this madman drag the poor boy to hell, just so he could have one more minion.

"I trust everything is moving as scheduled."

"Piss off and maybe it will." Winry growled, never sparing a glance towards the visitor. Slade was, of course, use to her comebacks and sass mouth. It made it all the better to watch her forced into it. He enjoyed watching her defy him as best as she could, just so she could feel she was winning. Her anger and impudence displayed while she did her work made Slade smile.

"Tsk Tsk… You should be more respectful, especially to those who deserve it."

"Don't lecture me you mask wearing simpleton." Winry came back, attacking Slade's sense of complexity. That was the one thing she knew would get him, the one thing that Slade could not resist responding to. That and the taunting of past failures…but the latter was likely to get you beaten or worst.

"And you remain a shiny example of complexity." Slade replied, on reflex. Winry's face had taken the smile that had faded from Slade's face. However, now that the amusement was gone from Slade, an irritated emotion replaced it. "Once again, your games begin to annoy me Winry. How is my collar coming along?"

"Me to know, you to wait." Winry growled, almost slapping herself for coming off so childish. She never expected the hand to grab the side of her face roughly, and drive it to the floor. Winry hit it hard, and felt Slade apply pressure to the side of her face. Obviously, Slade was in a bad mood. And then she saw it. His mask was cracked, clean. Breaking his mask was a sure fire way to turn the usual cool and calm villain into a bit of a violent one.

"Enough of your games Winry! I want an update, now." Slade growled, his eye glaring dangerously.

"It's coming along!" She yelled, her voice a mix of dizziness and agony. In the back of her mind, the scene was playing much differently. She was laughing at a beaten and broken Slade, and she was the one in charge of it all. She was the tormentor, he the sufferer.

Too bad nothing good ever came from dreams.

"It had better Winry. I feel I should let you know… your usefulness is reaching its limit. If this fails…" Slade threatened, leaving it open ended for Winry to piece together. She knew all to well what he meant would happen.

"Yes Slade…"

------ ? ------

Raven had long since left, leaving Beast Boy to his own bed and his own thoughts. Even though Raven had helped him empty his mind, there was more than one being in his head. One that subconsciously sought to be unleashed upon humanity, one that desired freedom from the cages both the foolish Cyborg and the petty Beast Boy had created. To be quite honest, all the being wanted was to experience the life that Beast Boy lead, to see the world and live in it.

And to him, Slade was freedom. Slade was a chance. Slade was his opening into the real world. He never truly expected Slade to find out about him, never truly believed it possible, but it happened. And now, it was his turn to make sure Beast Boy never manages to get away. It was his turn to finally seal the petty boy's fate, and take his time in the land of humanity and civilization.

------ Dreamscape ------

Beast Boy felt his eyes open, the sound audibly louder than what it should be. He knew before he opened his eyes what was going on. He knew he was in another dream, something much more different than before. Instead of being in Terra's tomb, he was in his bed. He waited for his eyes to adjust to the surroundings before he sat up. He could see his walls, his shelves, everything. He almost began to believe it wasn't a dream, until he saw Robin standing beside the door.

"Ro…Robin? What are you…"

"SHUT UP!" Robin yelled, startling the changeling. Within a blink of an eye, Robin had grabbed Beast Boy by the shoulders, and tossed him into the wall as hard as he could, smiling at the impact. Beast Boy groaned in pain as he felt his spine crack under the impact, and his eyes open wide.

"DUDE!"

"You expect me to treat an animal like you with respect?" Robin growled, watching disdainfully as Beast Boy pushed to his feet. "You're nothing but a menace!"

The first mental blow to his stomach. Beast Boy felt his trust wane, and his anger grow. "And what would you know about being a menace Robin?"

"Enough to see you're just going to become a problem. I'm taking you in Beast Boy. We'll be safe with you gone."

"Like hell I'll go with you!" Beast Boy yelled, leaping at Robin. Beast Boy blinked as he leapt through his leader, and head butted into the ball. He blinked his eyes twice, his head oddly hurting as he stood up.

"Comon Beast Boy. Just come quietly man. Robin says it's for your own good." Cyborg said, or at least his voice said from behind the changeling. Beast Boy swung around, throwing a punch and hitting nothing at all.

"Please friend Beast Boy. All we want is for your protection." Starfire's voice said from the side. Beast Boy spun towards it, growling as he leapt, diving through a window. Beast Boy plummeted towards the ground, before he watched it all fade away.

"You're only going to hurt yourself Beast Boy." Raven's voice echoed.

"SHUT UP!" Beast Boy yelled, swiping an open hand towards the voice. "WHAT THE HELL WOULD YOU KNOW?"

Impact. Beast Boy landed with a thud in a large room, very plain. It was more like a room at the asylum, only without the padding. No windows, and unlike most rooms, no doors. It was a box.

"Calm down Beast Boy… calm down…" Beast Boy muttered, as she searched the room for anything. All he could see were four full white walls, and a ceiling. Nothing else. "It's just a dream, nothing to get scared over…"

"You freak." Beast Boy heard, turning towards the voice. Standing in front of him was Terra, his lost 'Lenore'. Beast Boy felt his eyes widen to their extent, as he stood up. He never quite heard what she had said, only her voice. It cried out like a beacon to him, like a signal.

"Terra… You're Al…"

"Yes, I am. No thanks to you." Terra quipped, glaring into Beast Boy's eyes. "You useless excuse for a friend."

The second and outright fatal blow. Beast Boy felt his entire mood shift backwards, before falling to the ground. Terra, his closest friend, his absolute confidant, his one true love in life… had just turned on him.

"I don't understand…"

"I figured you wouldn't. It's your fault I died in the first place. You blame Robin for it all, HA!" Terra mocked, pushing him to the ground. She didn't have to try hard, a slight breeze would have done it to Beast Boy at that time. "It's your fault I left, and your fault I went to Slade. You could have saved me, but you left me to die like a coward." Terra growled, venom dripping from her words.

And the poison left Beast Boy dead on the inside.

"At least Robin tried to help me." She finished, walking behind Beast Boy. Slowly, Beast Boy turned to see something that froze his insides, that shattered his already strained heart, and dropkicked his already wavering sanity. Terra and Robin, embracing each other in a warm hug, their mouths lock on each others. Beast Boy blinked once, his mouth dropping, before he felt his anger take control.

He pushed to his feet, tossing his hands out and grabbing the first person he could. The first person his arms could reach.

Terra.

With one quick twist, faster than the blink of an eye, Terra fell to the ground, dead. Robin looked at Beast Boy, his eyes never shifting in the slightest. Instead, where his face had once touched Terra's, where his lips had once been on the fairest of maiden's, a grinned formed. A grin that made his blood run cold, and his anger boil beyond belief.

"You killed her again Beast Boy. I am so proud of you." He drabbled, each word carefully constructed to inflict more pain on Beast Boy. "You would make the perfect little pet for Slade, wouldn't you?"

It was instant. Beast Boy's hand shot out and grabbed Robin by the throat, squeezing as tightly as he could. Robin didn't choke, didn't struggle, he didn't even sweat. He just stared and grinned.

"You're pathetic. I can't believe I ever let you on the team. To think, we would have been much better off too."

Beast Boy let out a pain filled scream as he drove his arm towards the wall, driving Robin into the wall, and through it. The two fell down the black pit, falling faster and faster until they landed in a large, ornate room. Filled with books, statues, lamps, and a very large door. In the center of the room stood a very majestic chair, and on the left wall was a large, opened window.

Beast Boy kept spinning around, looking for Robin where ever he was. He wanted nothing more than to pull the eyes from his face, and force him to watch his own gruesome death. Beast Boy wanted to destroy Robin in the worst way imaginable. He wanted nothing more than Robin to be lying at his feet, beaten bloodied and broken and begging for mercy.

Rapping came. A steady tap of knuckles on the door. For a brief moment, Beast Boy felt his hell-filled mind empty, and the door become the focal point of his mental life. He moved, more like crawled, to the door, and opened it. Opened it to a hall of total and utter blackness.

He heard words echo in his head, words that were familiar and foreign to him at the exact same time. Words that he read but never truly knew at that one moment. Never the less, the words rung out, as if narrated by an unseen force.

By his own voice, when he was not much more than a toddler.

_Deep into the darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing  
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before;  
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,  
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word,  
_

"Terra?" Whispered Beast Boy, for reasons he could not come to figure. The only reply to return his comment was merely the echo of his own words. "Terra!" Then there was nothing more. His eyes opened wider, his hopes never ending. He tried again, only to hear the same response. Nothingness. Tears began to trail down his eyes as he felt his mind once again burn alive with his own induced madness.

"I really killed her… didn't I…?" Beast Boy muttered, looking off. His glare soon became one of solid anger, and outright hatred. "NO! Robin did! ROBIN KILLED HER AGAIN! He took her from me, just like he did before…" Beast Boy growled… slamming the door. "You never could understand us Robin! You let her die, and left me to suffer!"

"Nevermore." Beast Boy heard from behind him. He spun as fast as he could to see a large Raven, staring at him with red eyes. Staring at him with a blame ridden glare, it's eyes filled with disdain and hatred.

"What would you know? A Robin who would have me caged and a Raven who would have me suffer." Beast Boy growled, staring towards the bird.

"Nevermore."

"SILENCE DAMN YOU!" Beast Boy yelled, his words twisted from what he wanted to say, to something more regal. "Take your judgmental beak out of my heart! You were never there for me! NONE OF YOU WERE! Not you Raven, not you Terra, NO ONE!" Beast Boy screamed, grabbing a book and throwing it as hard as he could at the Raven. It connected with ease, and as far as he could tell killed bird.

"I AM ALL ALONE! I needed someone, AND YOU ALL LEFT ME TO DIE!" Beast Boy screamed into the emptiness. "YOU WERE THERE FOR ROBIN! WHAT ABOUT ME!"

He felt a pair of arms wrap around him, out of the blackness. Not rough and angry like a certain leader, but warm, inviting. They were soft, filled with caring and comfort. And then he heard a voice he hadn't heard since he was but a child, but he never forget…

It was the lasts words he ever heard her say to him.

"Hush now precious… I'm here. Step away from that window. Go back to sleep precious." The voice cooed, her tone filled with love, the words majestically crafted to comfort even the darkest of souls. Beast Boy turned around expecting to come face to face with his mother, with the only other person to ever understand him. He expected to see her warm face, her delicate features, and her bright smile.

Instead he came face to face with a copper and black mask, and one cruel and deadly eye staring at him with content.

"Don't fear precious." The voice said, wrapping the collar tightly around Beast Boy's throat. Not a sound escaped his mouth, not a noise passed his lips. Beast Boy's eyes had shot open to their max extent, filled to the brim with horror and depression, as he felt the collar snap around his throat. "Master's here."

------ Raven's Room -------

"CYBORG!" Robin screamed out, picking up a slack Raven. In the middle of the night, a scream had pierced the veil of serenity, as Raven immediately screamed as loud as she could. Robin had entered just as she stopped. She was sitting straight up, her eyes shot opened and for a brief moment he saw mind-numbing fear burning in them, and watched as she mouthed the words 'help him' to Robin, before she fell slack, off the side of her bed.

"CYBORG! I NEED SOME HEL…" Robin began, before he heard another deafening scream. This one was much louder, and sounded like a person's death cry. The scream rang for a good minute, before it ceased, and left a brief period of a few seconds before another death scream. Robin shut his eyes tightly, hiding behind his mask as he clue in to where the screams had come from.

"Beast Boy…" He muttered weakly, his voice filled with sympathy and fear, as he moved towards the room of his fellow Titan. "Why is this happening to you?"

* * *

Insaneiac: So long… you had all better enjoy this. I worked hard as hell. I'm going for a nap now. Enjoy. 


	6. Chapter 6: Nevermore

A/N: So…I realize now that, whilst I was gone…many of you missed me. I missed you all too much. But never fear. To keep the flow, MOB needs and update, and I'm here to give you your fix. We're going to start stepping it up into high gear now too. All you Beast Boy fans out there, get ready.

Disclaimer: Still don't…although I wish I did…like all of you probably.

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Chapter 6: Nevermore -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This time, Robin had gone past worrying. Raven was slowly coming to, a brief stint in the land of lost consciousness. But her condition had no bearing, no real effect at all on Robin's  
mood. It might have concerned him, had something much worse not come up. Something much worse, much scarier and worlds more disturbing then passing out.

Robin looked through the infirmary window, gazing at his fallen comrade. Cyborg was sitting by his side, completely turned off from the real world. Starfire could only stare and mutter half sentences and whimper. Deep down inside, Robin wanted to help; he wanted to pull him out. Even further down, he wanted to find out why. Why Beast Boy was having these horrid dreams…why he was losing his mind.

And why he was now comatose.

"Ro…Robin?" Raven muttered, her eyes flickering open weakly. Her entire body felt, more than anything, drained. She could tell by Robin's sombre and silent presence that things could have been better than she'd hope. "What's…"

"Coma."

The silence was a strong, scary, and awkward one. Raven could only adopt a questionable stare, and an alerted sense of presence as Robin uttered the single word with about as much warmth as an icy tomb. "What do you mean…"

"Beast Boy is in a coma Raven." Robin replied, same frozen tone. This time, Raven was fully aware. And with awareness came unbound horror. "He's been like that for the past seven hours…Lying there almost dead…" With that, he spun around, and stared into Raven, not her eyes, but deeper. He was making this a personal connection and she knew it. "What is going on?"

"Why would I know?"

"Shall I list the alarms that went off in my head? How about the fact that, before charging after BB, you yelled Slade? Or how in actuality, there was no Slade with the Slade-bots. How about the fact that you passed out when he did. Raven…our friend, our team mate, is lying within a medical bet. He is completely removed from reality. Comatose. You know something. I know you do."

"Robin, you're being unreasonable. You want answers, but you're looking in all the wrong places."

"Raven. You went into his mind, and refused to tell me anything. This time, you **have** to tell me. What is going on?"

Raven sighed exasperatedly. Every dodge she executed was met by another question, each one harder and harder to avoid than the last. But she made a promise. And with promises comes her respect, and her silence.

"I don't recall spreading things about you after I was in your mind, Richard." Raven replied, using his name to purely show who had the power. And it reflected it well, as Robin twitched hearing his name. No one knew it but him until now, or at least, until Raven had been inside his head. "What you're asking of me, is what you begged of me not to do the day after you're "nightmare."

"Raven, if I recall, I wasn't in a coma afterwards. Are you telling me you value your own mysterious knowledge more than Beast Boy's life!" Robin growled, slamming his hands down on the foot of the bed. The sound was loud enough to catch Starfire and Cyborg's attention, who eyed the pair curiously. They quickly found themselves uninvited when both Raven and Robin shooed them off before turning back to the conversation.

"Robin, I have put up with a lot from you, some good, and some bad." Raven muttered, very dangerously. Where her mono tone like voice once was, a clearly emotionally engaged voice began to follow. "But you will not, **not**, question my loyalty to my friends. Do you understand me?"

Slowly, Robin pointed towards Beast Boy, never breaking the almost lethal eye contact. "Then why are you hiding something that could help us?"

"Because, Robin. You would not understand his pain. You would use it against him."

"Now you would be questioning my loyalty, Raven. My friends come first. Always."

"Really? I recall a situation where you put your vendetta with Slade ahead of us. I can recall such a situation twice actually." Her voice had once again retained its mono-tone flow, but each word still rang true, and stung hard. "And both times, it came down to you against us Robin." She stared, unfaltering, into the Robin's masked eyes as he trembled with rage. A death-like silence filled the room like a toxic gas, threatening to suffocate the both of them.

"Slade is a madman." Robin finally said, his words dipped in venom, set aflame, and read to blow. "He's a madman who I swore to stop. Who I **will** stop!"

"You're more loyal to Slade and your revenge. That is why I won't tell you, Robin. Because you need to put things into perspective. Beast Boy is your number one concern, not what Slade is up to. At least, Beast Boy should be your number one concern."

"Don't you **EVER** try and tell me how to lead!" Robin yelled, loud enough to once again catch the attention of Starfire and Cyborg. It was an extremely emotional time, one that teetered on the edge of a pot with boiling water, and a stove on high. "At least, Raven, looking into his mind yourself. Then tell me what you think. I'll let you decide." Robin growled, his nerves stretched past the point.

Closing the gap, Robin came as close to Raven as he could, keeping the next words as quiet and private as possible. "But if he dies, then it's on you." With that, Robin pulled away, and left the infirmary, driving his fist into the door on his way out. If had stayed any long, even a breath of a moment longer, Raven quite possibly would have thrown him around like a rag doll. What hurt much more than his words though, was the honesty and truth behind them. The minute she heard he had gone comatose, she found herself duelling with her moral sense of right and wrong, and her oaths to Beast Boy.

A long, stressed and greatly pained sigh escaped her lips as she gripped her head between her hands, and breathed in deeply. She had only been seconds from blowing up almost everything in the room. Slowly, she felt her emotions slip beneath her veil of self control, as she slowly sat up, and reached for her cloak. Throwing it on as though it was nothing, she sat on the bed, allowing her mind to clear itself, to focus unto the task ahead.

"I'll fix this Beast Boy."

----- Winry's Lab ------

Sighing deeply and painfully, flopped down onto her chair, placing the completed collar frame onto the table. It checked out perfectly, meeting the shape and design requirements. Now all she had to do was turn it into from a collar, into a method of control. A token of slavery to the unlucky and eternally damned soul it would find itself wrapped around. Now, all she had to do was the impossible. She figured that an injection of nanoprobes could solve the control issue, and in that case, needed to rig a beacon system within the probes.

However, it was the serum that bothered her. Making probes radio-receptive and sending shocks of electricity was one thing, but this serum was not only completely new to her…but it was completely unbecoming of whatever character Slade might still have.

Basically, Slade labelled it the anti-serum. It would counteract a serum used to for the Were-beast mutation into a recession. The only way it could possibly work, though, was if the form was unleashed first. It would be a most delicate procedure to create such a serum though. If done even slightly wrong, it could very well have a definite negative effect upon him. It could even kill him if the dose was too potent, or too weak. It could kill him if the serum failed completely, and if she killed his new pet, then Slade would take great pleasure in breaking every bone in her body, and dropping her in a lake to drown.

That was his idea of a merciful death. A slow, painful death by drowning. She had seen him do it once before, and it disturbed her in ways she could not fathom.

"He wants to remove civilization from the beast..." She muttered, slowly realizing the whole picture. "Take the city out of the animal and put the jungle back in…that's sick…even for him." She quipped into the empty room, rolling her eyes before picking up the collar, and returning to work on it. "Just keep biding your time Lin…just keep biding your time." She chanted, as she began the real work behind the collar.

------ Infirmary------

"Leave." A voice muttered, breaking the sombre silence that existed. Cyborg and Starfire quickly turned to protest, but one look into her eyes, and they could tell that such a contest would be useless. With a great deal of grumbling and curses from Cyborg, the two left to go find Robin, and watch the streets. Slade was out and about, they all knew it. And since that was the case, Robin needed to be watched, from either a friendly standpoint, or a cautious standpoint.

For the longest time, Raven just stared at Beast Boy. He was pale and barely moving. Machines along side him monitored him endlessly, his entire body hooked up to computers for the slightest detection of destabilization and worse. Comas were and are ugly and disgusting things. They can destroy the mind faster than any drug, and leave you cold and lonely forever. Raven could manage such a fate; she had been for her whole life. Cold and lonely. Beast Boy would not.

Not for a day, not for an hour, not even for a handful of minutes. It would be a death sentence for him.

Sitting down beside him, Raven reached out, and took one of his hands, gripping it tightly. Once again, she would dive into his consciousness and try to help him, afraid of what she might see. Beast Boy was suffering nightmares of the worse kind. And what made it worse was that they might very well be premonitions of the future. If this was the case, then what she had to worry about was not what caused his Coma, but what he is afraid to wake up to. There was nothing more blocking, more interfering, than fear.

Crossing her legs and taking one last breath, Raven began to chant her mantra. With nought but a few moments, her consciousness drifted into Beast Boys.

------ Beast Boy's Mind ------

Unlike the last time she had been in here, Beast Boy's mind was empty. A total blackness. Where there had been a recreation of the tower last time, there was bet an infinite amount of black space. Typically, comatose patients experience "second realities." Things that feel so real and true that they had to be there. That was what typically destroyed the mind, was that belief.

"Beast…boy?" Raven muttered, slightly worried, though no ordinary person could tell. "Are you here?"

A whimper responded from the darkness. Raven turned towards it to see Beast Boy, his arms wrapped around his knees, curled up in a little ball. "Raven…What's happening to me?"

"You're comatose Beast Boy. And judging from the lack of scenery, I'm thinking that this is somehow intentional."

"Because, you know, I can just slip into comas at will." He muttered, emotionally crippled. His voice was more a mix of anger, depression, and confusion than anything else. "When I want to, I just disappear into my landscape of total nothingness."

"No, but for you, it's not impossible. I am judging that, from your experience as animals, you have found out how to, for the most part at least, hibernate. A coma and hibernation are not that far apart."

Beast Boy just stayed silent, aside from the odd sniffle. "You think this is purposeful?" He muttered.

"I think you want to avoid Robin and Slade. But I think you're afraid to stay like this. Quite simply…I think you're lost."

"Lost? In a few days, Slade will come for me. He promised. Not you, not Robin, me. Tell me Raven, don't you think I have the right to be afraid." Beast Boy replied, as he struggled to sit up. He turned his back to Raven, avoiding eye contact with her at all cost. "Robin will use me as bait to catch Slade. Slade would do the same."

Raven growled, a sound that she hardly ever made. However, it was scary nonetheless. "Robin wouldn't dare. If not by his own code of ethics, then by me, Cyborg, and Starfire standing in between him and doing so. But Robin needs to be given the chance to help you. No one understands Slade more than him."

"You're going to tell him aren't you? If I refuse, you'll do it…"

"I…" Raven began, feeling a pair of emotions boiling within her. Betrayal and exposed. "I have to…"

Her words echoed in the empty space, first growing quiet, than roaring loudly, before finally being overtaken by silence.

"Leave." Beast Boy replied, his word bleeding sorrow. Raven knew that anything more would be pointless, would be useless. She had betrayed the trust for possibly her closest friend. Looking on, she could see Beast Boy collapsing inwards.

'I am doing this for him…Even if he hates me forever for it.' Raven's mind rang, as she disappeared from his mind, leaving a broken and betrayed Beast Boy to the emptiness within him. Soon though, his mind filled with two things. Two things he never wanted to see again, but knew were true. Words and voices, both saying the same thing.

"_She'll tell Robin, fearing you."_

Once more…Slade had been right.

------ Titan Tower ------

Raven reared backwards with a jolt, a common after effect of diving into ones mind. For a brief period of time, her mind was discombobulated, but soon everything fell back into place. Beast Boy was still comatose, and Raven had probably dealt a destructive blow to Beast Boy's heart. She didn't need to read him to understand that. He put his trust in her, and she betrayed it. Life doesn't quite deal harsher blows than that.

Making her way slowly to the main room, she forced her body to rid itself of any signs of her previous conversation. What she had to do now was going to be the hardest feat she ever attempted. However, she had a chance and a choice to do differently, and she chose this. Decision made, now she had to walk that path her choice created.

"Robin." Raven muttered, unintentionally getting the attention of all three Titans. "Come with me." She finished, walking off. The three glanced at each other curiously, before Robin leapt off the couch and went off in Raven's direction. Cyborg and Starfire could only exchange blank stares, before turning back to surveillance of the city.

Making his way to the infirmary, Robin attempted his best to mentally prepare for whatever Raven would say or do. Entering, he turned to see Raven staring down at Beast Boy, watching him methodically, staring for any last minute signs of recovery. Robin fought back a whimper of sorrow as he watched his comrade suffering, but ultimately remained stone-faced. Whatever Raven had seen, it was enough to coerce her into talking.

"Sit down." Raven spoke, her voice emotionless. Robin did so with no fight, locking eyes with Raven. "What I tell you stays between you, me, and him."

"I think I should decide that for myself Raven. Cyborg and Starfire have every right to know if it is serious."

"Robin, this isn't up for discussion. You might lead the Titans, but this is my condition. Hate me for it if you want, but this is either between us, or just between me and him." Raven responded, her voice lifeless. It was her eyes that conveyed the meaning to the words. "Deal?"

"…Fine." Robin growled, as though his favourite toy had just been taken away from him.

A deep sigh escaped Raven's lips before she started. "Slade is after Beast Boy."

Robin's reaction was nothing she could have ever expected. Instead of adopting his typical attitude, or slipping into his state of paranoia that he adopted with his grudge against Slade, Robin remained completely stalwart. "What could Slade want with him?"

"Slade wants…" Raven began, finding that she was, to her chagrin, struggling to complete the sentence. If the Slade part did not alert Robin, she was sure this would. "Slade wants Beast Boy's Were-beast form…"

"What!" Robin replied, stunned. How Slade could have known about Beast Boy's mutation horrified him, but the fact that Slade truly wanted to get his hands on it made him even more afraid. With a power like that on his side, Slade could truly rain destruction upon the city. Beast Boy himself, in that state, was nearly unstoppable, and they all knew he was holding back on them.

If Slade had control, holding back would not be an option. The though of Beast Boy like that, in full fury, truly horrified him.

"Slade wants the Were-beast Robin. That is his interest in Beast Boy."

"If he does…Beast Boy would be destruction embodied…" Robin replied, eyeing his green comrade carefully. Had he kept his eyes on Raven, he would have seen her eyes quickly adopt a red glint.

"That is your worry. What about Beast Boy himself Robin? You know what Slade will do to him. Are you really more afraid of Slade having his powers as opposed to Slade torturing and destroying your friend?"

"Raven…Beast Boy is my friend. But what he had inside him, that darkness…it scared me. Just as much as Slade scares me. I'm afraid for him, I promise…but I can't help but wonder what would happen if Slade got his hands on Beast Boy." Robin muttered, before his head flopped down in shame. "I'm horrible for thinking like that, I know."

"No, you don't know." Another voice cracked. Raven and Robin, in tandem, whipped their heads towards Beast Boy. How long he had been awake they couldn't tell, but he was awake. "I scare you just as much as Slade does? That what I can do, am capable of, causes you fear?"

"Beast Boy, what I meant was…" Robin started, before he made eye contact with Beast Boy. His soft eyes were replaced with hard ones, the kind that made it nearly impossible to lie to someone.

"Go away."

"Beast Boy…just listen, please?"

"GO AWAY." Beast Boy repeated, a much more definite sting to his voice. Robin and Raven knew that, at this point, it would be foolish to continue. Sighing in defeat, Robin stood up and walked away. Raven, however, could only look into the eyes of Beast Boy helplessly, who returned her glance just as coldly as he did Robin's.

"I trusted you Rae…"

"I know, but…"

"I trusted you, and did just what Slade said you would…you told Robin. And Robin's afraid of me. Thanks to you, I'm a monster now. Go away."

"Beast Boy… I needed to tell him. He was the only one that could help."

"Help? Did he sound like he wanted to help to you? "

"He was evaluating the circumstances."

"Lock you away in fear and turn you into a menace before your friends' eyes, just like I would. Face it, if you go to Robin, he'll be just as cruel to you as I am, and you know it to be true." Beast Boy recited, catching Raven completely off guard. "That was what Slade told me about telling Robin. And I can see even now that it is coming to be. Soon, Robin will hide me away for my 'protection' but really, it'll be for his protection. I scare him, and he won't hesitate to make sure that I don't become a threat. Now go away Raven…" Beast Boy stated, his voice cracking midway, before going back to the icy cold tone he had when addressing Robin.

Raven wanted to say something, anything, to evaporate his fears, but even she found herself drawn to the truths in his words. Robin admitted he was scared. Not of the though of what Slade would do to Beast Boy…but of the thought of what Slade **could** do **with** Beast Boy. It made her sick to believe that Robin could think like that, but he had.

"Beast Boy…" She muttered weakly, before turning around and walking away. As she left, she could hear him weeping into the pillows. It broke her heart. He, who had at one time been a thorn in her side, and a constant joke as far as being competent went. Yet he had always been the "comic relief" when they needed it. Watching him suffer now was like watching a knife digging into her skin.

And yet, in the back of her mind, try as she might, she could only blame one person. It was not Slade, who in honesty deserved all of the blame, and it wasn't Robin, who also deserved some. Watching Beast Boy right now, she could only blame one soul for his tragedy and suffering.

Herself  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------.  
A/N Hah HA! Lot's of talking, I know. Needed to regain the flow, if yah know what I am talking bout. So, Slade's statements come true, well true-ish. Robin admits his fear of Beast Boy, and Raven blames herself. Poor girl. And yes, just in case you are all wondering, I AM ALIVE! THIS IS NOT ME FROM THE DEAD! In the next chapter…the story changes. Completely. Till then, peace out, and play Tales of Symphonia. Your lord and master commands it.


	7. Chapter 7: The Final Free Day

Insaneiac: Ello chaps. Back for a bit more Beast Boy suffering are ye? Well, aside from one individual, who continues to warn me about my life ending should Beast Boy's ends… You know who you are, that always seems to be the case. Now, if I really wanted to frighten you all, and trust me, that ranks high on my list, I could make this one big Raven Beast Boy fluff fest. We could call it fluff-stock 06, with opening act of Robin and Starfire, followed by Cyborg and…well, no one cares about Cyborg…but the thing is, I have an outlet for fluff already. If any of you chaps have played Tales of Symphonia, feel free to check it out when you have a chance for the…lighter side of the crazed freak of nature. Anyways, on with the show.

Disclaimer: I do not own Beast Boy…or Teen Titans. However, Slade soon will.

* * *

Chapter 7: The Final Free Day

* * *

A smile hid behind has mask as he watched Winry enter the room, a collar grasped firmly in her hand. For the first time since Terra, Slade had been in relatively high spirits. He was still the heartless, soulless, demonic icon of terror that everyone made him out to be, he was just happy about something. That tended to mean even worse things would start happening. As it stood, he was mere minutes from unleashing his most decisive blow to the Titan's yet. He felt much like the grand villain, revealing himself at the beginning of the second act, or the end of the first. Of course, this was no staged play, and there were no actors at all. 

Only puppets on strings that he controlled with ease.

"Ah Winry. I trust that it's ready." Slade opened, his voice retaining its emotionless quality. He could have laughed at her reaction, but chose to hide his joy. Not that it was a hard task for him in the slightest. His character was such that he could kill his mother, and be just as happy as though he'd won the lottery. But you would never notice it. Winry growled under her breath as she tossed the collar onto his desk, glaring icily. "Now now Winry, try to be pleasant."

"Shove it Slade." She growled.

"I take it that fear of what might become of young Richard kept you awake long enough to finish this then? That is why you have become so…unruly." Slade dissected, observing Winry with great patience.

"You know what, when this fails just like your pathetic attempts at "apprentices", Slade, I'll be there to laugh at you. And trust me, Slade. You will fail. You always do." Winry blurted out. At first, she had seemed almost horrified at what she had said, but yet when she resolved herself, she finished strong and potently. She could blame this on the grand total of seven hours sleep in the last three days, she could blame it on her overwhelming hatred consummating an unholy union with stress, or she could just put it all into being pissed off.

Her fears, however, would be dashed as a rippling laughter, frostier than ice, filled the room. 'He's…laughing at me…LAUGHING!' Winry's mind erupted, before she watched Slade stand.

"Miss Winry…" Slade began, closing the distance in-between them. Every step he completed brought the feeling of death itself a renewed sense of being. "…do you know what it is that keeps me from breaking your little neck, and being done with you once and for all?"

"I know it's not by looks…you're too busy chasing after little boys." He reply came, sharper than anything she had ever uttered before. She had wholly expected Slade to destroy her for such a comment, but all that came was another chilling, disturbing laugh. "WHAT IS SO FRIGGEN FUNNY!" She yelled, enraged and horrified at the same time.

"You, miss Winry." He replied, backing the young woman into a wall, removing any space between herself and the madman. "And your little, incessant comments. Watching you attempt to take some control never ceases to amuse me."

"I am NOT here for your amusement you sick, pathetic man!" Winry growled, as a hand wrapped itself around her throat. Her eyes bulged dangerously as he felt it tighten; threatening her with the aspect of being separated from the air she needed to live.

"You are here for whatever reason I decide, Miss Winry." Slade continued, as he picked her up off the ground, and raised her into the air by her neck. The look of complete fear, of utter and total overwhelmed horror, within her eyes was priceless. "And despite your protests, you still do what I say. So, Winry, I ask you this." Slade droned, as he brought her eye level with him. "Are you truly so hateful of me or do you hate yourself for being so subservient?"

And with that, he released her throat, letting her slump down to the ground. Even when he turned his back on her, Winry's eyes were wide with horror. Every word just then, every little syllable just sank in. Every single bit of it made…absolute sense. He was right. "No…"

"Please, don't let your petty sense of drama consume yourself. You're nothing but a servant, my slave." Slade replied, revelling in his destruction of her soul. "No one cares about you now, and when you die, just as many will care then. The only effect you will ever truly have is in helping me get my apprentices and my pets."

"You…bastard." Winry muttered.

"Name calling is never acceptable Winry, even for you. Now leave." He responded, his voice still retaining its emptiness. Where the Winry who once believed in her strength might have scoffed off like a teenaged daughter, or an angry and betrayed brat, this Winry feebly stood up, and trotted off, almost as if she had died within herself.

Of course, this mattered nothing to the mastermind. The suffering of anyone under his rule meant little more than hurt moral, which was easily rectified with a strong and potent dose of fear. No, he had more important things to fill his mind with. His mind and eye focused on his monitor, relaying a stream from his secret little camera within Titan Tower infirmary, watching his prize with great patience and wanting as he rubbed the collar in his left hand. Behind the mask, his smile grew much more demonic than anything it had resembled before.

"Today is your last day as a free person, boy. Today, you bow to a master like proper animals should." He cooed to the screen, his voice riddled with venom and malice. "You will be my property."

------ Titan Tower ------

The tower, usually peaked to the brim with noise, mayhem and craziness, was silent. It resembled the silence one could find nestled within a graveyard at the peak of midnight. Accompanying it was a creepy and pure silence, much like the kind that heralds in catastrophe. Raven had left with Cyborg and Starfire to check on some disturbances in and around the city. That left two people within the tower. One heartbroken and depressed, not to mention mentally shattered Beast Boy, and one supposedly fearless and equally supposedly selfless Robin.

One of which was just finishing up the single hardest thing he had even set out to accomplish. Well, perhaps the second hardest thing, when he glanced into foresight. In his hands he held two of the largest chocolate sundaes he had ever seen created, loaded with every flavour of ice cream that Cyborg hid in his room. The bowls were nothing short of gargantuan, sure enough to give Godzilla a good case of the inferiority complex. It had taken him an amazing amount of effort to even come up with the elaborate design of such a monstrosity of teeth rotting sweetness.

Yet Robin knew he had to make this effort. He knew that, despite the gut wrenching horror that welled within him, surrounding itself around the prospect of a deadly brain freeze and his teeth falling apart, he needed to connect with Beast Boy. And while the saying typically went "The quickest way to a woman's heart is through her stomach" Robin was sure that this could be applied to the only walking black hole living on the world as well.

It struck him personally when Raven suggested this, opting to leave with the other two worry warts to let Robin and Beast Boy connect. It made him feel as though Raven though he couldn't do it. That he was incapable of doing something like this. With a big grin on his face, as he looked at the mountains of icy goodness, he laughed. You never tell Robin what he can or can not do.

Quickly, he ran to the infirmary, the second home of Beast Boy as it were, and stopped at his door. Looking up at the semi-unaware titan, Robin brought a sincere, if not slightly forced, smile to his face. "Beast Boy, common. I got a surprise for you!" Robin blurted out.

The fact that Robin looked like a little boy who had just successfully coloured his first picture brought a grin to his face. With a nod, Robin left him to slip back into his costume. A few minutes later, and a few inner hours of Beast Boy tearing his mind apart, trying to deduce if Robin might be trying to kill him in order to prevent Slade from taking him away, he walked into the main hall, and turned to see Robin.

Robin, grinning like a mad man, holding two of the largest spoons he had ever seen, standing in between two of the largest sundaes he had ever seen.

"**_DUDE!_**" Beast Boy yelled, his eyes watering as if he had just been presented with the award of "World's Greatest Superhero." Within a few seconds, the two had happily begun devouring the super sundaes as it were. Within an hour of shovelling, and the slurping up the melted mixture of flavours, Robin and Beast Boy flopped onto the couch, each of them patting a full stomach. Beast Boy, of course, had gone wild with ice cream fever, and was in the midst of fighting a life or death battle with the God of all ice cream headaches.

"If I never…" Robin began, a burp breaking his statement in two. "…eat ice cream again, I could die happy."

"Dude…I hear…" Beast Boy replied, a similar belch interrupting his statement. "…you loud and clear."

For a few more brief moments, the two existed as comrades, and to anyone that might have been watching, spying, or recording, the two looked like friends of the best calibre. Robin had to admit, it felt good to finally find something to reached Beast Boy with. Now he just needed to step passed his role as leader. He needed to reach through his role as Robin of Teen Titans. And as mind numbingly hard as it was, he needed to relinquish his fear of Slade. This was not his problem alone to brood over, nor was it Beast Boy's to suffer over.

"Beast Boy…do you trust me?" Robin muttered, sighing deeply. In earnest, he had expected a typical Beast Boy answer. He never got that. Instead, what he got was another case of Beast Boy breaking the mould that his run in the Titan's was thought to create and solidify.

"No. I don't." Beast Boy replied, his eyes suddenly darkening again. He had a feeling, ever since he saw Robin smiling, that this was going to happen.

"Well, Beast Boy, I trust you. And knowing that, this stays between us, okay?" Robin replied, catching Beast Boy off guard. Sighing, Robin knew what he had to do. The only way, only way at all, he was going to connect with Beast Boy…was by dropping his role as Robin. With a long a deep breath, he made eye contact with Beast Boy, who gave him a sullen nod. His eyes quickly shot open as he watched Robin peel away his mask from his eyes. He could only stare as he saw for the first time Robin's eyes. The first thing that came to his head, other than a vicious nagging to shut his mouth, was his eyes. They were human. Blue, human eyes.

"Ro…Robin?" Beast Boy muttered, seeing Robin shake his head. With another sigh, possibly one designed to reaffirm his strength, Robin locked eyes with Beast Boy.

"First of all, and this will stay between you, me, and Raven. My name is Richard. You're the third person alive to know my real name Beast Boy. Not even Starfire or Cyborg knows it. Okay?" Richard began, almost defensively, eliciting a stunned nod from Beast Boy. "And what I say to you, what we talk about, I want you to say as though I was a regular person. My mask is off, and my position as Leader is not here right now. As of this point and time, Beast Boy, we're equals."

"…It's Garfield…" Beast Boy replied, after a while of though. Richard knew exactly what he had been speaking off, and nodded in reply.

"…You can't fight him alone." Were the first words out of Richard's mouth, knowing exactly what would come. "I know because…I can't fight him alone. Every time I've been in trouble, been at risk of succumbing to him…I'm saved by my friends. Beas…Garfield…Slade is no villain. He's a calculated and clear minded veteran of evil. He knows how to strike you, where to strike you, and just how hard to strike you to lure you right too him."

"Do you fear me?" Garfield spoke on impulse, breaking the eye contact and staring at the ground.

"What makes you…"

"Him Rob…Richard. Do you fear…him within me?" Garfield returned, shivering as he referred to the darkness that dwelled and swelled within him. Darkness known all to well by both of the boys.

"…It's not that…"

"No Richard! Yes or no!" Garfield growled, reaffirming eye contact with Richard. This time, his suppressed eyes flared with emotion. With a mind-numbing lust craving only the complete and total truth from Richard. He didn't want a pleasant excuse or an explanation. He wanted an honest yes or an honest no. Nothing in-between.

"…Yes Garfield. You…he…horrifies me. I've lost count of the times my mind wandered to what you could truly do if you tried. But yet, I know who you are." Richard replied, not expecting the glare within Garfield's eyes to become even fiercer.

"**NO YOU DON'T!**" He yelled, startling Richard quite thoroughly. What had at one point held resemblance to a conversation had left, gone with the wind. "You haven't the slightest CLUE! You might think you do, but all you see is comic relief...IS A WALKING JOKE!"

"And what about you then? Do you know me? Do you have even the slightest clue what my life has been?" Richard retorted, a fist clenched at his side. "Beast Boy, I guarantee you that if you knew, if you saw, anything that happened in my life…it would chill you to the bone." That one calmed him down; at least it looked like it did. In all honesty, he just wasn't sure with Beast Boy anymore.

"When I was young…my parents were killed." Garfield muttered. For a brief period of time, both he and Richard had become victims. "Someone rigged our boat with an explosive…and in the chaos of it all; I was tossed off the boat. My parents weren't nearly as lucky."

"Garfield…"

"My adopted father was murdered by a pair of American hunters, just so they can take me away and sell me. SELL ME!" Garfield growled, fists clenched as tightly as he could. "Like I was a jewel or an accessory." Then, with a gaze at Richard, his eyes turned fierce. "Even Terra, who I… who I really liked… was killed. Everyone that has ever tried to love me Richard…they die."

And suddenly…Richard didn't feel as alone in the world. For the longest time, he felt like the world dealt him the worse hand in life, giving him the horrible tragedies and brutal events. And here he was, watching a comrade he had never truly taken seriously fight back tears, recounting tragedy equal to his own, and then some. At least Robin had an adopted father still, even if he was the epitome of fear. Garfield truly had no one... or at least more people had come and gone, either by fate or by death. He must have felt like the loneliest soul on the planet.

"Garfield…"

"Don't pity me. I gave up feeling sorry for myself long ago… I just wanted to laugh around people. Even if I had to become the target of laughter, I only wanted to bring some joy here and there." Garfield muttered, wiping away the tears from his eyes. "So there Richard. That is me. A tragic little boy who gave away a need for sympathy, just to make the people around him feel better about their lives.

"Garfield…do you fear me?"

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"When Slade is around…do you fear me?"

For a second, the two comrades could only exchange glances, both equally preparing themselves for what would inevitably come next. "Yes Richard. When you're against him, you put everyone else behind him. It makes me wonder just who or what you'd sacrifice to stop him. He brings the worse out in you, and yet you still keep trying."

"Garfield…I would not, I would never, sacrifice anyone to get to him."

"That is a bold face lie." Garfield responded, catching Richard completely off guard.

"What makes you think that? Huh? Am I truly that heartless and evil to you?"

"Yes." Garfield began, his eyes solid with purpose again, as he stared Richard dead in the eyes. "You want revenge on him, and you would do whatever it takes to get that Robin. Whatever it takes." And with that, Beast Boy had shattered the ideal of equality between the two evaporated with the mood.

"**BEAST BOY!**" Robin yelled, silencing his team mate. "I would never, EVER, sacrifice anyone on this team to beat Slade. NEVER!" Robin growled, grimacing as he snatched up his mask, and placed it back onto his face. "And the fact that you would even assume I was that low…it sickens me!"

"I sicken you Robin?" Beast Boy growled, grabbing his communicator from his side, holding it as if he meant to crush it. "Fine. I don't need you. I don't need you, this tower, or any of your lies!" Beast Boy finished, hatred of the purest kind filling his eyes, his entire body trembling with the rage of an army.

"Yes you do, because you are worthless without us!" Robin growled back, no long realizing what he was saying. It really did catch him pretty quickly…the fact that he had really just said that…that he had just let his emotions flow through him. But as he watched Beast Boy, he could see that no matter his intention, the words had struck a killing blow to him. Slowly walking up to Robin, Beast Boy's frame was at an eerie stillness, no moving at all. Not trembles, not a shake, not even a full breath.

"Worthless…" Beast Boy began, before driving the communicator into Robin's chest, as hard as he could. The blow took Robin to his knees, panting for breath as he felt a pain resembling his entire chest collapsing in on him. "You're a bastard Robin. A worthless, heartless bastard." Beast Boy continued, tears forming at the edges of his eyes as he looked down at Robin, struggling to get back up. "For all I can care, you and the rest of the Titans can rot. In. **HELL!**" Beast Boy growled, as he charged out of the Tower.

Robin, despite his pain, knew that the only chance he had to keep him safe was to chase after him. Grabbing his own communicator, he pressed the burst button, and yelled into it. "Raven, we have a problem. FIND BEAST BOY!" And with that, he charged after Beast Boy, desperate not to let him run away.

------ Jump City Alleys ------

The peak of night made Jump City a very foreboding place and the alleys where doubly so in the dead of the night. However, for some obscure and unimaginable reason, the usually filled alleys were completely and utterly empty, save for the odd cat charging from place to place.

Beast Boy touched down, slipping back into his human form. For a moment, the anger and adrenaline pulsed within him, before they evaporated. And then it had all hit him. With a depressed sigh, he slumped up against the wall, and wrapped his arms around his knees. He had just rammed his communicator into Robin's chest, a wave of fear waving over him. What if he had really hurt Robin? One final sigh managed to escape his lips before he just broke down, sobbing and whimpering like a child who's dog just died, or a close, loved one watching his father, mother, sister, or whatever being lowered into the grace.

"This is far from a safe place for children." A voice said, calm and collected. Slowly, Beast Boy glanced to his left. There was a person in a deep brown cloak, rummaging through a trash can. "Especially the young, heartbroken and crying ones. Lot of sickoes in this place."

"Why should I care? Maybe one will pick a fight." Beast Boy replied defensively. Inwardly, he was hopping someone would.

"Yahknow, everyone cares about something. Take me for example. I'm digging through this trashcan. Guess why?"

"Food?" Beast Boy muttered on instinct, not realizing how insulting it truly sounded.

"Hell no. I could care less about food. I have great food where I live. Right now, I am looking for something important to me. Something…precious to me."

"You mean you're not a bum?" Beast Boy grimaced as he felt himself speak once more with the insulting language. Instead of retorting though, the man just laughed. A roaring, full laugh into the air.

"You're a funny one kid. No, I'm no bum. I probably look like it though, don't I?" He replied, flapping his cloak in the air. "Actually, my kid's dog passed away a couple days ago…he kept the collar as a keepsake. Seems a "friend" decided to play a joke on him by throwing it out."

"So you're playing super dad and getting it back for him?"

"Course. That's what fathers do." He replied, as he stiffened for a moment. "BINGO, FOUND IT!" He yelled, as he turned to Beast Boy. The former titan turned smiled at the man, about to congratulate him, when he saw the collar. It looked nothing like what any regular dog would wear in their right mind. It actually looked more like something designed for the most brutal of pet trainers.

"What kind of dog did your son have!" Beast Boy exclaimed, eyeing the mechanical collar something fierce. "Or rather, what dinosaur!"

"Hmm...funny actually. I never even said I had a...son. In all honesty, I had one for a while...an 'adopted' son." The man began. Beast Boy was beginning to feel unnerved as he watched the man, unable to see his face thanks to the hood of his cloak. "Actually, my last kid…I believe… had been a girl." The man muttered, this time much colder. "She was young, full of youthful emotion, with blonde long hair, strong blue eyes, and a determined voice." He recited, as Beast Boy stared, any sense of curiosity he had ever had fading away slowly replaced with a combination of realization and fear. Realization of who the man was talking about, and fear about who the man was. "She had this beautiful little green animal…followed her everywhere she went…except to hell."

"…Slade…" Beast Boy whispered, as he kicked to his feet. The man nodded slowly, an evil laugh filling his ears. Beast Boy stood in fear as he watched the man, watched him as he lifted his hood, revealing that it was, indeed, Slade. The man who swore to take Beast Boy away from the life he had known, loved, and held dear.

"I told you in three days, I would come for you. And guess what, boy? Day three is upon you now." Slade stated, his voice a deathly cold tone. "And I told you that the first thing we'd work on is your habit for crying."

"Go to hell Slade. I'm not going with you, Robin, or anyone!"

"You believe you have a choice? Little boy, the Titans is a choice. I'm not." Slade replied, charging ahead. Before Beast Boy could even blink, Slade's forearm slammed into his neck, pinning him to the wall. Stunned, all Beast Boy could do was stared horrified into his eye as he brought the collar to his neck. With a single button, the collar whirred to life, an unlocking sound filling Beast Boy's ears as the collar spilt open. "Your life of freedom ends now. Your life as my pet, however, begins." Slade finished, as he slapped the collar around Beast Boy's neck. A brutal locking sound filled his hearing once more, as he felt his life slip out of his hands. And with the press of a button, an extreme electrical shock ripped through Beast Boy's body, rendering him unconscious. Tossing the knocked out boy over his shoulder, Slade walked down the alley, disappearing into the night with his intended prey.

* * *

A/N: Yes… I said the story was changing…I have a feeling that I dragged BB's character into a new realm of OOC, so tell me please if I did. I will need to renovate that. Anyways, like I said. Big changes. Robin tries to connect with Beast Boy on an emotional level, and fails miserably. Slade kidnaps Beast Boy, and destroys any confidence that Winry might have had. The next few chapters, gents, are going to feel a bit slow…but never fear. If you know me, and I know some of you do, there will be a lot of awesome things to come.  



	8. Chapter 8: Treated like a Beast

**Insaneiac: Okay ladies, I hope you are all fully prepared for what will become of our darling lil Green friend. Now then, here's the deal and such. A few have asked me, either by review or some other method, if Beast Boy's past is sincere. The answer is yes. I only changed around very little, specifically the bomb to boat bit. That was a bit of improvisation on my part. Two hunters really did kill his adopted father to sell him, and his parents really did die. Anyways folks, enjoy the chapter, and a little note from here on out. When a thought occurs within a character, it'll be written **_'In Italics and have single quotation marks at the beginning and end of it.' _**Just like that. Well, enough chat from my, enjoy the fun.**

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans, Slade, or anything to do with DC. I only own Winry and the plot.

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Chapter 8: Treated as a Beast

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There is nothing quite as scary as not knowing where a close friend was. Usually, this fear sets in after a few hours of a lapse in contact. However, for those who know what evils lurk at every corner and alley, this can begin almost instantly. It really didn't take as long as the usual amount for Robin to go on a city wide hunt for Beast Boy. Within seconds, all available members of the Titans were sweeping the city like hawks, hunting down their friend. It honestly was only Raven and Robin who truly knew what to honestly fear, and what could have become of Beast Boy, which made it all the more horrifying for those two in particular. 

"Robin, I can't find him anywhere in this part." Raven's voice sounded. Her voice, usually calm and steady, was alert and panicky, dangerously on the brink of emotional.

"Yah man, he's not anywhere near here either!" Cyborg followed, his voice stressed with worry and fear. Robin could clearly tell that out of everyone, Cyborg was handling it the very worse.

"I am sorry to report the same." Starfire added, sombrely. Despite her quaky voice, Starfire was clearly the most stable of the group. Yet considering the matter behind the search, this truly didn't mean much.

"NO EXCUSES! KEEP LOOKING!" Robin yelled angrily, placing the communicator back to his side as he whipped through the streets on his R-Cycle, nearly slicing clean through a car. It was just reaching the pinnacle of midnight, and to say that worry had set in amidst the Titans would have been an understatement. Still gripping his chest tightly, breathing through the unbelievable amounts of pain, Robin refused to give up his search for his comrade. Even if he was just looking to be alone, even if all he wanted was some peace of mind, Robin's gut was telling him, yelling at him. It told him to find Beast Boy, to track him down. His guts and instincts were telling him that Slade was on the prowl.

"I'll try to reach out to his mind. Perhaps I can establish a connection that way."

"I don't care Raven, just do something! Find him!" Robin yelled, well aware of his voice cracking briefly. _'Why am I so worried? It's probably nothing.' _Robin whipped dangerously around a corner, scaring the living hell out of a pair of cops. Had it been anyone else, pursuit would be made. However, they both knew that Robin was moving that fast for a very good reason. And not one of them was even going to think about interrupting him. _'Beast Boy…where are you?'_

"Robin…I can't get anything. Either he's sleeping or he's…" Raven began, swallowing the last word. Try as she might, she couldn't say it. She couldn't say it because she knew it was the last thing Robin would need to hear. Breathing in deeply, she finished her statement sombrely. "…unconscious."

"That's not good enough. Keep looking." Robin replied, his voice shaky. He could hear the beginnings of a rebuttal coming from Raven, and that was enough for him. "We are NOT going to leave him out here. We'll keep looking all night if we have to. So shut up and look for him! THAT'S AN ORDER!" Robin yelled, panicked, angry, and anxious all at the same time. Robin knew he had to find Beast Boy at any cost whatsoever, and was quite willing to tear the town apart just to accomplish that.

Off the communications, Raven touched down on a building, and sighed. She knew that Robin was beating himself up over this. She knew that Robin suspected Beast Boy was taken away. She knew that Robin would stay out for weeks searching for Beast Boy. _'Robin and guilt never did go well together.' _Looking down at the city woefully, she felt herself fight back any tears that might try to sneak by. "Beast Boy…Give me a sign…give me anything please." She spoke to the air as the prayed for the best, but feared for the worse.

"ROBIN!" Cyborg yelled at the top of his lungs into his communicator, with a level of volume that nearly shattered Raven's ears right off her head. Cyborg had either found something really, really good, or really, really bad. "Robin, I found something! I found…" Then a very long, very scary silence. A silence that spoke of nothing short of devastation, of horror, of the very fears and terrors of hell itself. This silence laughed at them, clawed at them, bit into their very souls, and watched as their faces contorted from anxiousness, to fear, to outright depression. Finally, after what seemed an eternity of nothingness, Cyborg's communicator crackled loudly. "Robin…I think it's for you." Cyborg muttered weakly, as he stared into the lifeless face of a Slade-Bot, holding two items, once in each hand. In it's left was a picture, and in it's right was a letter.

The picture was of Beast Boy…collared. The unopened letter had only one symbol on it. A demonic, foreboding, and utterly evil capital 's'. Slowly, Cyborg released his focus from Robin, and stared back at the Slade-Bot. A second later, the Bot's head was blown off, and Cyborg was tearing him apart like an animal tears into it's freshly caught prey, roaring in fierce anger as loud as his lungs could manage. By the time Robin had pulled up, Cyborg was pounding pieces of metal into the ground, his voice no more than enraged sobs. Just as Robin was about to say something, anything, his eyes catch the letter. More than that, his eyes catch the large 'S' on the letter. Reality detaches itself from Robin as the letter burns into his mind. He is gone from Cyborg's sobs of fury, from Starfire's constant pleading for Cyborg to stop, from Raven's silent observation. His hand reached for it, gripping the letter almost methodically. He was sure someone had said something to him, but their voice was lost in the void between reality and Robin.

Opening the letter as slowly as one would open the case to a bomb, Robin removed the sheet of paper. His eyes scanned it briefly, almost as if to find a timer or a bag of dust. Finally assured of its safety, Robin coughed gently, attaching himself to reality once more.

_Dear Failure._

_As the picture might suggest, Beast Boy is mine as of now. He is no longer a member of your pathetic little group, nor is he ever going to return. Where I may have fallen short with you and that pathetic excuse of life Terra, this time I will not. Try to find him if you want, it is no circumstance to me. Where he is now, his screams won't reach your ears. Oh believe me Robin, I do intend to make sure every waking moment of his life is that of pain, whether he is dealing it unto my victims, or having it dealt unto to him. _

_Needless to state Robin, your loss is my considerable gain. He is Beast Boy no longer; he is a Teen Titan no longer. He's my property Robin. He my slave, he's my animal, he's my little toy. _

_To put it very flatly, he is my pet, and he always will be. In earnest, the only thing I could wish for after this is the chance to watch your face as you read this letter. You must be livid with rage. Then again, perhaps you are use to the taste of defeat at my hands. What ever the case might be, it has little weight on my mind. You no longer concern me, or interest me. _

_Knowing you, even this letter won't detour you from undertaking the task of hunting me down single handily. I await your pathetic attempts, and by the time you find me, so will my pet._

_Slade._

By the time he had finished reading it aloud, Robin's hands were trembling. Cyborg had long since stop screaming and attacking, and gone into a state of emotionless rage. Starfire was aghast with the worse kind of horror, and Raven was silent. Silent and sullen. Slowly, Robin collapse to his knees, bending over and slamming his fists as hard as he could into the pavement. He could think of no words to yell, no curses to scream. All he could do was drive his fists repeatedly into the concrete, the slams echoing into the empty, cloudless night like a hammer onto a gong. Raven felt herself fall backwards, slumping against a wall. She slid down it until she was sitting with her back resting on the wall, her eyes completely empty. Cyborg had slowly risen to his feet and simply stood there breathing. His hands tightened in anger, but he could do nothing. He knew he could do nothing. Starfire, for the first time, was not crying. Whilst Raven and Cyborg were lost in a void of no emotions, and Robin was attacking the ground, she was without tears.

"Beast Boy…" She whispered into the air.

------ Slade's Lair ------

Victory.

The very word was sweeter than anything created by man or nature. The meaning it held attached to it was beyond that sweetness by good measure. Even the smallest victory could bring an instant feeling of immortality to the weakest beings upon the planet. Even if it was a false sense of immortality, it was enough to drive the human soul. Even the idea of achieving victory is enough to spur the weakest of men to grip for the highest cliff.

As Slade gazed down at the unconscious Beast Boy, he knew he wasn't gazing at the changeling. He was gazing at what he represented to him. Where as Robin had been a victory, as was the case with Terra, this one was more than that. He was the beginning of many victories, of many large and important victories. While he had Plasmus, Overload and Cinderblock at his disposal, they were as useless to him as Mumbo or Mad Mod would be. But with Beast Boy, with his monster unbound, Slade had something that lived, breathed, and existed only to fulfill his bestial instincts.

There was very little as dangerous as a wild beast. There was nothing more dangerous than a beast that lived to kill. What Slade wanted was not a beast, he wanted a monster. He would take Beast Boy, and systematically crush his spirit, his hopes, his dreams, everything he could use to remain even slightly decent. Once he had taken away the humanity from him, he would force the wild into him. He would take the emotions Beast Boy held onto, and rip them from him. The very thoughts of what he would do to the child almost distracted him from the fact that Beast Boy had just began to stir. He couldn't wait for the former Titan to fully take in the hell he now belonged to.

"Abandon hope, ye who are damned." Slade spoke solemnly, as Beast Boy blinked several times.

"Who's there?" Beast Boy moaned weakly, his vision as blurry as his memories. With great effort, he cleared the dirt away from the memories of the last few hours, and focused onto it. With a final grunt, both his memory and vision became full, and he saw only one thing. One person, wrapped in a cloak of demonic presence, wearing a mask as emotionless as his voice. "SLADE!" Beast Boy screamed, before jumping to his feet. Before he could anything, Slade's foot caught him clean in the side of the face, sending him sprawling to the ground. Just as quickly at he hit the ground, he pushed himself up to his feet, and turned to face the man once more. His mask was barely a few inches from his face, and Beast Boy could still see the crack he had caused in his mask. Beast Boy's mouth dropped open to say something, to say anything, but found himself reeling backwards as Slade drove his fist into the boy's face. Beast Boy hit the ground with a sickening thud, followed closely by a heavy foot being pressed onto his chest.

"Tsk tsk. Pets should not speak unless told to speak. That is the first lesson that you will learn."

"Go to hell, Slade." Beast Boy growled, squealing in pain as the pressure increased.

"Haven't you noticed? This is hell." Slade growled, reaching down and grabbing Beast Boy tightly by the throat, hoisting him up into the air. He laughed as the boy tried to kick and claw his way out of the strangle hold, but failing miserably. "And I don't recall giving you the order to speak." He finished, his voice turning sour at the end, and he pulled Beast Boy back, and drove him into the wall, driving the air out of his body. He watched intently as Beast Boy's eyes shot open in mind numbing pain, then seconds later coughed up a good bit of blood. "I don't suppose you're ready to concentrate yet, are you?" He asked rhetorically, knowing full well that Beast Boy would fight.

He wanted him to fight. It was always far more satisfying to break the will of a fighter. "Go…to…hell…SLADE." Beast Boy roared, grabbing Slade's arm as hard as he could, and swinging himself upwards. His feet caught Slade at full force under the chin. Slade had not only been unsuspecting of the coming blow, but completely unaware of just how much strength Beast Boy could readily unleash. Slade found himself landing square on his back with a thud. Despite this, a smile crawled along his face. "What did you do to me? Why can't I change?" Beast Boy yelled frantically, as he pulled viciously at the collar.

'_Just like a freshly caged animal, he has no clue where to start, what to think. He fights everywhere at once when he should focus on one thing.'_ Standing up, Slade charged Beast Boy, catching him completely off guard. Before he could even blink, Slade had slammed the side of the changeling's face into the wall, an echoing crack sounding as the wall around his head splintered. "You can't change because I refuse to allow you to." Slade growled, pulling his hand back from Beast Boy's face, then driving his elbow into his neck. A horrid choke escaped Beast Boy as he crumpled to the ground, begging internally for another bout of unconsciousness. "Unless I decide it is necessary, you will never transform again." Slade continued, before driving his foot into Beast Boy's stomach, and slamming him into the wall like a rag doll.

Beast Boy wailed in pain as he felt something inside him crack. His stomach felt like it was alive with fire, melting away at his body. It was hell, and yet he was still unable to slip into unconsciousness. "I am also capable of forcing you into staying conscious boy. I wouldn't want you to miss out on lessons just because of a bit of pain now, would I?" Slade continued, throwing a big heaping bucket of water onto his hopes. Using whatever energy he might have had left, Beast Boy force himself to his feet. He had found that he had broken one or more of his ribs, but that didn't matter at that point. What mattered was defiance.

"Go…to…hell…Slade." He muttered again, before throwing a punch towards the man. The punch, if it could even be called that, was easily grabbed in mid-flight, much to Beast Boy's chagrin. Seconds later, a hand slammed into his broken ribs, brining another wail of pain out of the boy's lungs, before Slade slammed him into the same wall once more. This time, Beast Boy did not get up. His body hurt too much.

"I'll make an animal out of you yet, you pathetic little boy." Slade growled, his coolness absent from his voice. Slowly, he reached down and wrapped his hand around Beast Boy's throat, lifting him up into the air and bringing him to eye level. "I'll turn you from this weak, insignificant waste of life into a monster. Into **my **monster." Slade finished, before spinning on his feet, and driving Beast Boy neck first into the floor, achieving one last, beautiful wail of pain. With great length, Slade lifted himself from the ground, staring disdainfully down at the now weeping Beast Boy, his face covered with blood that he had coughed up. Walking away, he pressed a pair of buttons on his wrist. One sent a signal to his nanobots, allowing Beast Boy to slip into unconsciousness, and the other was a communicator.

"Winry, pick my pet up and take him to the infirmary. Have the good doctor patch him up. Make it quick." Not waiting for a reply, Slade released the button and exited into another room, leaving Beast Boy alone in the miserable space, barely breathing as he lay apart from the world in a pool of his own blood. Just as the doors were closing, Slade glanced at his prize one final time, a malicious grin hidden beneath his mask. "I will make you something to be feared, just you wait. Your very name will cause children nightmares of the worse kind. Oh, how I will truly enjoy destroying you, Beast Boy. I will revel in making your life a living misery."

* * *

A/N: Yes, this was a smaller chapter, but it was more of an introduction into the situation kind of. But anyways, you now know a few features of Beast Boy's collar, including the ability to prevent Beast Boy from being knocked out, something that I will greatly abuse in my abuse of Beast Boy. I would tell you all more but…heh…I want you to watch in horror as I do this. Peace.


	9. Chapter 9: Obedience Training

**Insaneiac: Yes, I am not, in fact, dead again. I've merely been forced to interact with a massive amount of humanity for the last three days, totaling 24 hours worth of dealing with the moronic public. Now, I owe you all a big ol MOB update, and this one will make your blood run cold (unless you are like me, in which case, that already happened. Looks at Dusty) And addressing BB and his new found love for the phrase "Go to hell." Think about…a freak kidnaps you to be a pet. What would you, even if you are a green skinned joker, say in return? Another thing…the next few chapters are going to be…Oh how should I put it…brutal displays of Slade-ism. So the weak of heart may want to duck and cover. Now, here's Winry with the Disclaimer. **

Disclaimer: Insaneiac owns nothing, not even a sense of dignity. He's too busy ruining his created characters lives to give a damn about owning anything. And further more, if he ever did own Teen Titans, we would have all tried to kill him. Several times.

**You don't get to do disclaimers anymore Winry.

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Chapter 9: Obedience Training

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"Robin?"

There was no response. He just kept staring at the screens. The screens that began to fill his mind the moment his right foot touched the entrance way of the Tower. He had camera's everywhere, eyes everywhere. He was never going to rest until he found Beast Boy, until he made right what was blown up. Even if it meant staying up for weeks on end. He could do it. He had done before, and even after this, there was no doubt he would one day have to do it again.

"Robin?"

It had been three long days since that night. Three very long and very horrible days. There truly was nothing like a sense of powerlessness to drive a person to new limits. Robin had long since turned to new friends in his determination to find Beast Boy. Extra strong, straight black coffee gave him a natural boost to his system, and when he needed it, caffeine pills continued it. Sleep was just not an option for him. Not while one of his friends, even one that considered him a vicious and horrible person, was in the grimy hands of Slade.

"_Robin!_" She cried out once more, forcing the boy to spin around. Robin came face to face with lavender eyes.

"What?" Robin tried to spit out angrily. It came out in a more slurred and sluggish state. Sleep deprivation was beginning to get to him, and now Raven knew it.

"It has been three days. Go get some sleep." Raven muttered, knowing fully that Robin was about to disagree. "What is killing yourself from lack of sleep really going to accomplish anyways?" She could still see, through the veil of fatigue, Robin's determination and defiance burning brightly.

"I can't and won't Raven. I will not abandon Beast Boy." Robin muttered. "Besides, you're the only other person who's not busying themselves either lamenting over it or sweeping the city endlessly, and I need you trying to connect with him! Do your job, I'll do mine!" He realized how cruel he sounded long after the words left his mouth, but he just didn't care. It had been three days since Beast Boy was kidnapped, and three days since Cyborg locked himself in his room, and every so often they could hear something explode or smash in. Starfire on the other hand, was partaking in the Grand Jump City Prix, flying endlessly over the city, in the city, in the sewers and everywhere else her mind could conceive to look in an attempt to find Beast Boy, returning only for brief moments of rest.

She had taken after Robin in this one aspect, that was a sure fact. "Robin, what can you accomplish if you cannot even understand what you see. Go. Rest." Raven soothed, reason filling her usually empty voice. When Robin tried to defend himself against her suggestions, she simply gave him a stern and hard look, repeating herself slowly. "Rest."

"…fine." Robin growled, pushing from his seat and walking towards the back. "But so help me Raven…if I miss something…" Robin threatened, as the door opened in front of him. He walked face first into Cyborg, effectively ending his threatening statements. Robin was about to say something, anything, when he felt Cyborg shove him to the side, and continue to the monitors. "Cyborg!" Robin yelped, the polar ends of surprise ringing in his voice. He could see something massive strapped to his back, and soon realized that it was his re-charger unit. His face, or at the very least, what Robin had seen of his face was an emotionless one. Yet it was a face that refused to give any emotional quarter though, not one that was devoid of emotion.

"I'm going to find him." Cyborg muttered, setting down the unit, before plugging himself into it. With a turn towards Robin, he gave him a pair of glances. Both solid and pure, one filled with determination, and another filled with contempt. "I'm going to fix your mess Robin. So help _ME... _If Beast Boy is…" He couldn't bring himself to say anything else, at least on that line. "I will kill you." He finished with a voice cold and detached. With that, Cyborg sat down in front of the monitors, and turned his attention away from the stunned Robin and the indifferent Raven, and onto the screens that could very well hold the life of his best friend in the world. "You've messed up enough things Robin. This is all your fault and your doing. It is time for a real hero to do something, instead of letting you continue your stupid little grudge with Slade. I won't let you ruin my best friend's life Robin." His words, though a clouded and incorrect assessment, struck hard enough. Enough for Raven to nearly cause Cyborg to explode in his chair, and enough for Robin to want to either drive a bo-staff into the base of his neck, or breakdown right there.

'_He's right…this is all my fault.' _

------ Slade's Lair ------

It had been three days since he was beaten up.

It had been three days since he was patched up.

It had been three days since he was snatched up.

It had been three days since he was caged up.

All Beast Boy could think about, aside from the collar that controlled his life now, were those four things. His entire life as he knew was gone, transformed instead into a squared and lifeless room, with a barred door to all together illustrate the point. A single, weak light hung from above his head, barely filling the room at all. That was it. There was nothing more to the room. His bed, as it were, was nothing more than the concrete floor. His food was served to him in a bowl that looked like it should be used for dogs. There was nothing more than four walls, a caged door, and a horrible little light above his head.

He had been trying to refuse the embarrassment of eating the food, but his will failed him miserably. When he thought Slade wasn't watching, he ate it. It made him feel sick to his stomach that he would resort to such tactics, but he did. It nearly killed him the first time, as he tasted ground up beef mixed with his food. Slade knew about his affixation with not eating meat, and he was using it against him. When he wasn't eating the food, he slumped in a corner of the room, trying to transform into a rat or a mouse to escape this. No matter how hard he tried, the collar interfered with it. He tried to go to sleep, to speed days along, but the collar would not allow it. He was never given more than five hours of sleep, and spent the entire day cooped up in his cage. Now all he was doing was, in between sobs, lamenting over those four unholy facts.

That was, until today. He looked up as he saw the cage door open, and standing there was Slade, arms behind his back. Beast Boy was sure that, behind his satanic mask, he was smirking or grinning or smiling or somehow reveling in his suffering. "And how are we today, my pet?" He uttered monotonously. As he stepped in, he shut the door behind him, sealing himself inside with the boy.

The same response he fed Slade since the first day of his capture found its way to his lips instantly. "Go to hell Slade."

"Still as disobedient as always." Slade began, before pressing a button on his wrist, sending the nanobots the signal to electrify themselves. Instantly, Beast Boy began to thrash around on the ground, screaming bloody murder as the tiny little robots tormented his body. A second later, the pain stopped. "But we are going to fix that, starting today."

"Go…to…hell…" Beast Boy choked out, letting out a choked gasp as Slade pressed a foot down on his chest.

"From now on, you will call me Master. Not Slade, not anything other than Master. You are an animal to me, a piece of property. As such, you will adress me as being your Master and your Owner. Just like a good pet should." Slade instructed, watching Beast Boy intently. He watched him as he struggled to find any breath to use words, before finally lifting his left hand and letting an obscene and vulgar gesture talk for him. "I find it interesting that you would even know what that means. However, I can tell you that you just made your first mistake in today's lesson." With that, Slade took his foot of his chest. Beast Boy sucked in a deep breath before he felt a single hand wrapped tightly around his throat, and lift him into the air. Before he could say anything, Beast Boy was hurtled into the cage door, taking it off it's hinges and sending both the door and the boy into the hallway in a crumbled heap.

"You see child, every pet is born disobedient." Slade began, driving his foot into Beast Boy's side as he tried to push up to his feet. The blow sent him sprawling down the hallway, each thud on the ground eliciting a grunt of pain from the changling's mouth. "Every animal needs to be tamed. A wild beast is a dangerous foe, but a trained animal is a deadly killer." He waited for Beast Boy to get up this time, before delivering an open palm thrust punch into his chest, hurling him into the wall not even ten feet behind him. The impact was ear shattering, and as his body slipped to the ground, a clear impression was left in the wall."But you are the difference in that. Inside you is an animal that is completely untamable. A beast of pure destruction. I don't want to tame him, only you."

"The…jokes on…you Slade. He's…never coming…back." Beast Boy choked out, before coughing up a good bit of blood. When he looked up, Slade drove his hand into his forehead, grabbing it tightly. In a single, fluid movement, Slade spun to his right, lifting the child into the air and then driving back of Beast Boy's head into the concrete floor, a sickening thud filling the ears of them both. A long, zombie like groan escaped Beast Boy lips, satisfying Slade.

"You didn't say Master. Bad boy." Slade mocked, pressing the button on his wrist. Once more, Beast Boy began to thrash about as his body was ripped apart by the malicious electricity. His scream silenced itself midway through, as his voice lost its strength amidst the pain. Slade held the button down tortuously, watching Beast Boy suffer the unimaginable wrath with great amusement before mercifully releasing the button, and freeing Beast Boy from the agony. "That was ten seconds of hell Beast Boy. Every time you fail to call me master, I will add another five long seconds of that pain. Do I make myself clear, pet?"

Beast Boy never answered. He simply twitched violently, as silent tears began to pour from his eyes. _'How does Robin do it…how… ?'_ He screamed with newfound strength when Slade drove his boot down on his hand, crushing several bones within it. To amplify the pain, Slade twisted his foot ontop of Beast Boy's hands, drawing a louder scream of pain from the boy.

"Not answering me is the same as disobeying me. And with that will come punishment. Do I make myself clear?" Slade asked, threateningly. He pressed his foot down even harder on Beast Boy's shattered hand, watching him squirm in mind numbing pain.

"Ye-yes!" Beast Boy screamed out, crying even louder as he felt Slade step down even harder.

"Yes what?"

"Ye-yes…" Beast Boy began, sucking in his breath as the next word played at the end of his tongue. _'Don't do it…Don't do it…' _He could hear himself mentally screaming, begging him to hold his dignity intact. It hurt so very, very much, but he couldn't do it. Not yet. "…Slade." Beast Boy uttered with a trickling of a grin slipping onto his face. He felt the foot lift off his hand, and watched as Slade glared down at him ruthlessly. He knew he was about to regret saying it.

"Bad boy…" With that, he pressed the button once more, and watched as Beast Boy began to spasm in pain once more. There was nothing quite like the sight of someone suffering to him. Torture was to Slade what Star Wars was to sci-fi geeks. It never ceased to amuse and entertain him. Everyone would put such gusto into saying things like "I'll never submit" or "just go torture me until I die" but when it came time to prove such a statement, they were the quickest to fall. It was the few that stayed steadfast in their strength that Slade found more than just enthralling to break. Beast Boy was surprisingly strong in his state of being, but he was not Robin. Not in the slightest. Slade would break Beast Boy, and when he did, he would force him to admit it. Over and over until the little boy realized himself that he is hopelessly and completely lost to the world.

Once more, his button lifted off the button, Beast Boy's body slumping to the ground in a pile, his body twitching spasmodically. "Boy, why do you torture yourself? The pain ends if you just submit."

"My fri-friends…they'll s-s-s-save me…" Beast Boy sobbed, his voice nothing more than a hoarse whisper.

"Why would they? You're useless." Slade began, reaching down and gripping Beast Boy by the throat. "They never were really your friends. Look how fast Robin turned them against you when you became that monster. Look how fast they turned to Robin's "Crusade against Beast Boy." They wanted nothing more than to end your existence." Slade growled, manipulating the events. Beast Boy tried to choke out a defense of them, but found himself lacking considerably. "It was Robin who demanded that Terra should die. Remember? It was Raven who helped to force her away, _Remember_? They brought her to me, they chased her to me. They were the ones that killed her." Slade calmly uttered, watching Beast Boy's face contort in agony as his mind turned to Terra. "You have no friends. All you have now is a master, and four former teammates hunting you down to end you."

"…No…" Beast Boy whined. It wasn't a confident and defiant no. It was a defeat ridden and despair encased no. "…They…"

"They hate you. They know what I want with you. That means you are a threat."

"But…w-we helped Ro-Robin."

"You are comparing you own importance to Robin's? Don't make me laugh. You are expendable to them." Slade muttered, dropping Beast Boy from his grip. Before the boy could hit the ground, Slade drove his left foot into his chest in a vicious side kick, hurtling Beast Boy down a new hallway. "But to me…you have more importance than any of them ever held. And whether you like it or not, boy, you will submit to me." He stopped just in front of Beast Boy, who was currently lying face down. Blood had begun to flow from his mangled hand, something that would take a bit of time to repair. Thanks to the nanobots, such healings where shortened greatly, but it would still take time. However, this startling ingenius feature of Winry's nanobots also meant that he could torture him to no end, because those nanobots would heal him faster than anything else, readying him for even more. "Winry finally got one right." Slade muttered, before taking the mangled hand in his own. Pressing a foot on his forearm, Slade began to push the hand backwards, cracking it further and drawing screams of blood curdling agony from Beast Boy. "You scream and you scream, yet no one comes for you. They've abandoned you to me. If they ever do come for you, it will be to end you, not to save you." With that, he wrapped his hand around Beast Boy's, and began to squeeze, mangling it even further. He listened for the final scream Beast Boy could put out before his voice dissapeared again, smiling behind his mask as he waited for the boy's voice to fail him.

Mercifully again, Slade removed the pressure, letting the hand go. It dropped to the ground with a squishy thud, Beast Boy twitching from the pain of his distorted hand connecting with the ground. "And child, when I have finished molding you into the monster you were born to be, you will destroy them. One by one, those miserable Titans will die by your hands."

"NO!" Beast Boy yelled, rolling to side. Before Slade could even raise his hand, Beast Boy's right foot connected with his chin, knocking him backwards. "I will not hurt MY FRIENDS SLADE!" Beast Boy screamed, forcing himself to his feet. He could find that, despite his surge of adrenaline, he could barely stand as it was. His body hurt so much; it felt like he was falling apart from the inside. Putting everything he could into going past the pain, Beast Boy charged the demonic man, leaping at him and catching him across the face with a kick. The blow sent Slade sprawling backwards, landing heavily on his back. To say that the boy had surprised him would be a slight overstatement, but none the less he found himself impressed. Landing with a thud, Beast Boy went to charge again, only to find himself falling to the ground. His body just couldn't do it.

"You see…even now, you're an animal." Slade mocked, stretching his neck before walking back to the prone Beast Boy. "Now I just have to train that animal in you, and I will have my pet." With that, Slade pressed down the button once more, watching Beast Boy once more find himself engulfed in the nanobots surging electricity. He could see the pain raging, consuming, and blanketing every one of Beast Boy's senses. It was destroying his life with every maliciously long second of torture, frying away his emotions and courage. It was enough to send someone into an endless pit of madness, and Slade could see it overwhelming him. As strong as he tried to look, he would break. They all break in the end.

Finally, after what seemed like an hour, the pain disappeared once more, leaving a convulsing Beast Boy in a crippled state. His body arched and twisted and contorted in the brutal aftereffects of the prolong exposure to such pain. Dry heaves sounded from him, as he felt his body fall apart. "Now, once more. You are my pet. If you obey me, you get rewarded. If you disobey me, you get punished. You don't have a name until you start realizing just what you are now. Am I clear?" He waited for Beast Boy's body to settle itself, and listened for the breathless sobs to fill the hallway.

"Yes…" Beast Boy began, closing his eyes as tightly as possible. He wrapped himself into the fetal position, hugging his knees tightly as cried into them. "…master…"

"Again." Slade spoke, his voice frigid. He wanted to revel in this. The first step of Beast Boy's admittance into the life he was made to live. This was not but the first step, a beginning to what he would bring down upon the child. Yet it represented so much. To him, those words signaled the opening of the door to his defeat. It was the beginning of the end for him.

"Yes…Master…"

A smile crossed behind Slade's mask, as he placed his hands behind his back. "Good boy. This lesson is over." Slade mocked, pressing a button on his wrist that allowed the defeated, destroyed and depressed child to slip into unconsciousness.

* * *

A/N: That even hurt me to write…poor Beast Boy… And yes, Titan Tower is falling apart now, and yes, there is a point to Slade's systematic destruction of Beast Boy's life. Just follow me with it. I promise I will not lead you astray. 


End file.
